Eddie "Chank" Willis (June 3, 1936 – August 20, 2018) was an American
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
musician. Willis played electric guitar and occasional
electric sitar
An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditiona ...
for
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
's in-house studio band,
The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.
Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...
, during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Career
Born in
Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,092 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.
History
Grenada was formed in 1836, after federal removal of the Choctaw people who had lo ...
, Willis was known for his signature style of muted guitar riffs which added a distinctive tone or "color" to the beat, often timed with the snare, of the hundreds of hit songs recorded at
Hitsville U.S.A. for Motown artists. Among the recordings Willis performed on are "
Please Mr. Postman" by
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...
, "
The Way You Do the Things You Do
"The Way You Do the Things You Do" is a 1964 hit single by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, the single was the Temptations' first charting single on the ''Billboard'' Ho ...
" by
The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...
, "
You Keep Me Hanging On
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...
" by
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
, and "
I Was Made to Love Her
"I Was Made to Love Her" is a soul music song recorded by American musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967. The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, and producer Henry Cosby and included on Wonder' ...
" by
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
.
Influences for Willis included
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...
,
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...
, and
Albert King
Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...
. He played a
Gibson Firebird
The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson beginning in 1963.
History
The Gibson Guitar Corporation released several new styles during the 1950s to compete with Fender's solid-body instruments, such as the Telecas ...
guitar on most of his early 1960s work, later moving on to use a
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor fu ...
. On recordings such as The Supremes' "No Matter What Sign You Are", Willis performed on a
Coral sitar
An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional ...
.
He accepted an offer from
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
to perform on his album of Motown and 1960s soul classics, ''
Going Back''.
Death
Willis died on August 20, 2018 in
Gore Springs, Mississippi from complications of
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
at the age of 82.
References
External links
*
1936 births
2018 deaths
African-American guitarists
American soul musicians
People from Grenada, Mississippi
The Funk Brothers members
American soul guitarists
American rhythm and blues guitarists
Sitar players
American session musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Michigan
Guitarists from Mississippi
Deaths from polio
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American people
{{R&Bsoul-bio-stub