Eddie Willis

Eddie Willis
Willis at a ceremony in March 2013 to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the Funk Brothers
Background information
Also known as	Chank Willis
Born	(1936-06-03)June 3, 1936 Grenada, Mississippi, US
Died	August 20, 2018(2018-08-20) (aged 82) Gore Springs, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Soul, R&B
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Electric guitar, electric sitar
Labels	Motown

Eddie "Chank" Willis (June 3, 1936 – August 20, 2018) was an American soul musician. Willis played electric guitar and occasional electric sitar for Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Career

Born in Grenada, Mississippi, 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 Way You Do the Things You Do" by The Temptations, "You Keep Me Hanging On" by The Supremes, and "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder.

Influences for Willis included Chet Atkins, Wes Montgomery, and Albert King. He played a Gibson Firebird guitar on most of his early 1960s work, later moving on to use a Gibson ES-335. On recordings such as The Supremes' "No Matter What Sign You Are", Willis performed on a Coral sitar.

He accepted an offer from Phil Collins 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 at the age of 82.

External links

• Justman, Paul (2002). Standing in the Shadows of Motown (Motion picture). New York: Artisan Entertainment.