Biography
Fiddler Will Batts served as the lead instrumentalist for Jack Kelly’s South Memphis Jug Band, a widely known string ensemble whose repertoire drew deeply from blues alongside minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels, and rags. Born on January 24, 1904, in Michigan, Mississippi, Batts initially earned his living as a farm hand before committing to music as a full-time profession; he soon entered Kelly’s group, a regular presence in the Beale Street district, and participated in the band’s debut recordings in 1933, with a second and concluding session taking place in 1939. In addition, Batts provided accompaniment for numerous other Memphis artists, among them minstrel singer Frank Stokes; his final documented session occurred in 1952 alongside harpist Big Walter Horton, and he passed away on April 16, 1954.