Ralph Willis

Ralph "bama" Willis was an outstanding Piedmont-style blues singer and guitarist, so named as he was born and raised in Alabama. He was not heard from until the late '30s, when he was known to have relocated to North Carolina and to work in the circle of musicians centering around Blind Boy Fuller, although Willis did not record with Fuller. By the time Ralph Willis did make it into studio, for the tiny, New York-based Regis label in 1944, his assimilation of Fuller's sound and style was already complete. Willis would continue to record with regularity through 1953, producing 50 sides altogether for Savoy, Signature, 20th Century, Abbey, Jubilee, Prestige, Par, and King.



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