Chuck Willis

Biography

Harold (Chuck) Willis (January 31, 1928 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock singer and songwriter; he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His most successful recording was "C. C. Rider," which topped the rhythm and blues chart in 1957 and also sold well in the pop market. He died suddenly of peritonitis while at the peak of his career, just after "What Am I Living For?", backed by "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes", was released.

His hit "Its Too Late (Shes Gone)" was covered by many, including Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Eric Claptons Derek and the Dominos and the Grateful Dead. In 2005, it was heavily sampled by Kanye West on Late Registrations "Gone." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.