Johnnie Lee Wills (September 2, 1912 – October 25, 1984) was an American

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

r popular in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Wills was born in

Jewett, Texas Jewett is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,167 at the 2010 census. It was laid out in 1871 by the International Railroad Company. Geography Jewett is located at (31.362119, –96.144630). According to the Unit ...

, United States, and was the younger brother of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

. He played banjo with Bob as a member of the

Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

starting in 1934, the year the ensemble began playing on KVOO in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. In 1939, he founded his own group, the Rhythmairs, but returned to the Playboys in 1940 when Bob split the ensemble into two groups, and named Johnnie Lee leader of one of them. Following Bob's move to California in 1940, Johnnie Lee renamed his group Johnnie Lee Wills & All The Boys, remaining in Oklahoma. Johnnie Lee switched from banjo to fiddle in this group. In 1940, both brothers appeared the film, ''

Take Me Back to Oklahoma ''Take Me Back to Oklahoma'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Albert Herman and starring Tex Ritter, Karl Hackett and Bob Wills. Plot Cast Soundtrack * "Village Blacksmith" (by Lew Porter and Johnny Lange) * "Kalamity Kate" (by ...

'', starring

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

. In 1941, he signed with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, and recorded again with

Bullet Records At least five record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed. Bullet Records, Nashville, 1946-1952 The earliest Bullet Records was a record label based in Nashville, United States, which was started in 1946 by Jim Bulleit and C.V. Hit ...

in 1949, where he saw his greatest success with songs such as "

Rag Mop "Rag Mop" was a popular American song of the late 1940s–early 1950s. The song, a 12-bar blues, was written by Tulsa Western Swing bandleader Johnnie Lee Wills and steel guitarist Deacon Anderson and published in 1949. Considered a novelty song, ...

" and " Peter Cotton Tail". In 1952, he signed with

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, where he was less successful, though he was still a popular draw in Oklahoma, and he remained a fixture on KVOO until 1958. He continued to record through the early 1960s, but his ensemble dissolved in 1964, after which he was only intermittently active in music. He opened a clothing store in Tulsa, and recorded for

Flying Fish Records Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of ...

and

Delta Records Henry "Kid" Rena (August 30, 1898 – April 25, 1949) was an American jazz trumpeter, who was an early star of the New Orleans jazz scene. Biography He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Rena may have taken lessons from Manuel P ...

in the 1970s; after

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...

and

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

reissued some of his old material. Wills died from heart failure on October 25, 1984 in Tulsa. On September 14, 1996, Tulsa honored Wills with a street named after him. Johnnie Lee Wills Lane is directly in front of the

Expo Square Pavilion The Expo Square Pavilion, sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, is a 6,311-seat multi-purpose arena, in the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was built in 1932; the architect was ...

at the

Tulsa State Fairgrounds The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The modern fair takes place in late September (occasionally beginning early October) and lasts 11 days. History The local fair officially began in the late 1890s as a ...

. At the official dedication in 1996, his son John T. Wills said, "...although Dad was born a Texan, when you think about it, he lived and died a Tulsan."

Discography

* ''At the Tulsa Stampede'' (Sims 108, 1963) * ''The Best of Johnnie Lee Wills'' (

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

CST-565, 1968) * ''Reunion'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

FF-069, 1978) * ''Tulsa Swing'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

1027, 1978) * ''The Band's A-Rockin' (1941–1951)'' (Krazy Kat KK CD-18, 1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Johnnie Lee 1912 births 1984 deaths People from Jewett, Texas American fiddlers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Western swing fiddlers 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Texas