Biography
Eddie Willis served as one member of the three-guitar lineup inside Motown’s renowned house ensemble, the Funk Brothers. Alongside Joe Messina and Robert White, he supplied the interlocking, riff-driven grooves that defined countless singles issued by the Detroit independent during the 1960s and 1970s. Among the tracks bearing his touch are Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Friendship Train,” which reached number two R&B and number 17 pop in late 1969, Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour,” which peaked at number four on both the R&B and pop charts in summer 1969, and the Supremes’ “Keep Me Hangin’ On,” where he doubled Robert White’s staccato, telegraph-style figure an octave lower; that single held the top spot on the R&B chart for four weeks and the pop chart for two weeks in late 1966.
A guitarist who never took formal lessons, Willis relocated from Mississippi to Detroit in the early 1950s. Shortly after finishing high school, Motown’s inaugural hitmaker Marv Johnson (“Come to Me”) introduced him to the fledgling company founded by songwriter and producer Berry Gordy, who had penned or co-written Jackie Wilson’s initial successes—“Reet Petite,” “To Be Loved” (number seven R&B, February 1958), “Lonely Teardrops” (number one R&B, number seven pop, October 1958), and “That’s Why I Love You So” (number two R&B, March 1959).
Either Willis or Messina typically supplied the emphatic backbeat that became a signature element of the Motown sound and later resurfaced in reggae as the “chunk…chunk” rhythm. After the label shifted operations to Los Angeles and began relying on local players that included members of the Crusaders, Willis and the remaining Funk Brothers still received tapes from California for occasional overdubs. The original unit’s dissolution was sealed by the passing of drummer Benny Benjamin, James Jamerson’s relocation to Los Angeles, and Joe Messina’s withdrawal from music.
Willis later joined the Four Tops on tour and continued session work in Detroit, most prominently under producer Don Davis on Rated X-Traordinaire-Best of Johnnie Taylor (Sony Legacy), Albert King: The Ultimate Collection (Rhino), and David Ruffin’s 1980s Warner Bros. albums.
A guitarist who never took formal lessons, Willis relocated from Mississippi to Detroit in the early 1950s. Shortly after finishing high school, Motown’s inaugural hitmaker Marv Johnson (“Come to Me”) introduced him to the fledgling company founded by songwriter and producer Berry Gordy, who had penned or co-written Jackie Wilson’s initial successes—“Reet Petite,” “To Be Loved” (number seven R&B, February 1958), “Lonely Teardrops” (number one R&B, number seven pop, October 1958), and “That’s Why I Love You So” (number two R&B, March 1959).
Either Willis or Messina typically supplied the emphatic backbeat that became a signature element of the Motown sound and later resurfaced in reggae as the “chunk…chunk” rhythm. After the label shifted operations to Los Angeles and began relying on local players that included members of the Crusaders, Willis and the remaining Funk Brothers still received tapes from California for occasional overdubs. The original unit’s dissolution was sealed by the passing of drummer Benny Benjamin, James Jamerson’s relocation to Los Angeles, and Joe Messina’s withdrawal from music.
Willis later joined the Four Tops on tour and continued session work in Detroit, most prominently under producer Don Davis on Rated X-Traordinaire-Best of Johnnie Taylor (Sony Legacy), Albert King: The Ultimate Collection (Rhino), and David Ruffin’s 1980s Warner Bros. albums.