Biography
This blues guitarist never clashed with his family in any notable way, yet he left a lasting mark on the instrument even while spending most of his career in supporting roles. Born deep within the Mississippi Delta, he was the son of Papa Frank Wilkins, himself a blues performer and close associate of the pioneering country blues figure Charley Patton. Joe Willie Wilkins had already developed a solid command of blues guitar by a young age, having also studied both harmonica and accordion. His ability to absorb new material quickly earned him the nickname “the Walkin’ Seeburg,” drawn from a well-known jukebox brand of the 1930s, and allowed him to fulfill virtually any song request on the spot.
In the early 1940s he stepped into Robert Jr. Lockwood’s place within the ensemble led by the forceful harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson II. That position demanded command of the jazzy phrases, chords, and runs that defined the leader’s arrangements. Wilkins appears on numerous Williamson recordings as well as tracks by Willie Love and Big Joe Williams, for whom he played bass. Alongside Houston Stackhouse, he performed with Williamson on the celebrated KKFA Mother’s Best Flour Hour broadcast from Helena, Arkansas. The music may not have boosted flour sales, but it drew the attention of fellow musicians. Muddy Waters later recalled that Wilkins was the first guitarist he encountered in Mississippi who played single-string lines without a slide, a technique that became central to postwar electric blues. Waters offered high praise, stating, “The man is great, the man is stone great. For blues, like I say, he’s the best.” B.B. King likewise sought out lessons from Wilkins in the late 1940s, and many listeners detect traces of the elder player in King’s style.
In 1950 Wilkins formed the Three Aces with Willie Nix and Love. The group’s broadcasts over KWEM caught the ear of producer Sam Phillips, resulting in Wilkins’s appointment as house guitarist at Sun Records in Memphis. He also provided accompaniment for numerous artists cutting sides for Trumpet in Jackson, Mississippi. Throughout the decade he recorded as a sideman with Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, Mose Vinson, Memphis Al Williams, Joe Hill Louis, Elmore James, and Floyd Jones. One of his most energetic performances occurs on Sykes’s “Sputnick,” whose guitar solo leans toward a rockabilly feel. Wilkins traveled extensively across the South and logged many hours in Chicago studios, yet he always returned to his adopted city of Memphis. His longstanding partnership with Stackhouse continued from that base; Wilkins served as Stackhouse’s landlord while the two frequently shared stages at local blues festivals and on the Memphis Blues Caravan, a Sonny Boy Williamson II tribute ensemble.
Even after undergoing a colostomy in the late 1970s, Wilkins maintained a busy touring schedule. Although some accounts place his death in 1979, his final appearances took place during an East Coast tour in 1981, and he passed away the week after those engagements. Among his own compositions are “Hard Headed Woman” and “It’s Too Bad.” A biographical essay about him appears in Fred J. Hay’s book Goin’ Back to Sweet Memphis: Conversations With the Blues.
In the early 1940s he stepped into Robert Jr. Lockwood’s place within the ensemble led by the forceful harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson II. That position demanded command of the jazzy phrases, chords, and runs that defined the leader’s arrangements. Wilkins appears on numerous Williamson recordings as well as tracks by Willie Love and Big Joe Williams, for whom he played bass. Alongside Houston Stackhouse, he performed with Williamson on the celebrated KKFA Mother’s Best Flour Hour broadcast from Helena, Arkansas. The music may not have boosted flour sales, but it drew the attention of fellow musicians. Muddy Waters later recalled that Wilkins was the first guitarist he encountered in Mississippi who played single-string lines without a slide, a technique that became central to postwar electric blues. Waters offered high praise, stating, “The man is great, the man is stone great. For blues, like I say, he’s the best.” B.B. King likewise sought out lessons from Wilkins in the late 1940s, and many listeners detect traces of the elder player in King’s style.
In 1950 Wilkins formed the Three Aces with Willie Nix and Love. The group’s broadcasts over KWEM caught the ear of producer Sam Phillips, resulting in Wilkins’s appointment as house guitarist at Sun Records in Memphis. He also provided accompaniment for numerous artists cutting sides for Trumpet in Jackson, Mississippi. Throughout the decade he recorded as a sideman with Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, Mose Vinson, Memphis Al Williams, Joe Hill Louis, Elmore James, and Floyd Jones. One of his most energetic performances occurs on Sykes’s “Sputnick,” whose guitar solo leans toward a rockabilly feel. Wilkins traveled extensively across the South and logged many hours in Chicago studios, yet he always returned to his adopted city of Memphis. His longstanding partnership with Stackhouse continued from that base; Wilkins served as Stackhouse’s landlord while the two frequently shared stages at local blues festivals and on the Memphis Blues Caravan, a Sonny Boy Williamson II tribute ensemble.
Even after undergoing a colostomy in the late 1970s, Wilkins maintained a busy touring schedule. Although some accounts place his death in 1979, his final appearances took place during an East Coast tour in 1981, and he passed away the week after those engagements. Among his own compositions are “Hard Headed Woman” and “It’s Too Bad.” A biographical essay about him appears in Fred J. Hay’s book Goin’ Back to Sweet Memphis: Conversations With the Blues.