1. Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter.
11 Facts About Chuck Willis
1. 2.
Chuck Willis was known as The King of the Stroll for his performance of the 1950s dance the stroll.
3.
Chuck Willis was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951.
4.
Chuck Willis would do five or six different numbers every week.
5.
Chuck Willis moved very well, he handled himself very well and put everyone at ease.
6.
Chuck Willis approached songwriting with painstaking craftsmanship and the result was literate, soulful and melancholy.
7.
Chuck Willis did not introduce a song in the studio until it was a polished product and fully worked out in his mind.
8.
Zenas Sears said Chuck Willis would drive around in the car singing into a reel-to-reel tape recorder.
9.
Ruth Brown, who toured with Chuck Willis, said he would write on yellow legal pads.
10.
Chuck Willis's death occurred while at the peak of his career, just after the release of his last single, "What Am I Living For", backed by "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes".
11.
Chuck Willis's hit, the blues ballad "It's Too Late" was covered by other artists, including Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Ted Taylor, Freddie King, Derek and the Dominos and the Jerry Garcia Band.