Wee Willie Walker

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Wee Willie Walker, born Willie Earl Walker on December 21, 1941, in Hernando, Mississippi, was an American soul and blues singer. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and started singing in gospel groups. As a teen he toured with the Redemption Harmonizers. In 1960 he stayed in Minneapolis while on tour and joined the Val-Dons, an R&B group, earning the nickname “Wee” Willie Walker for his small height.

In the early 1960s he led Wee Willie Walker and the Exciters. He made his first recordings in Memphis in 1965 for Goldwax Records. His 1967 release was a cover of The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” with the B-side “There Goes My Used To Be.” He recorded more for Goldwax in 1968, including “You Name It, I Have It” and “A Lucky Loser,” but they did not become big hits. A misunderstanding caused him to miss a key promotion, and Goldwax would not release him to work with Curtis Mayfield. He then worked as a machinist and later as a health care worker, while still performing on weekends.

Walker formed Willie & The Bees with Willie Murphy. In the 1970s he started Salt, Pepper and Spice, a horn-based rock band. Around 2002 he retired from health care and joined the Butanes, a local R&B band. They released three albums—Right Where I Belong (2004), Memphisapolis (2006), and Long Time Thing (2011)—and toured Europe and Japan.

Later he led Willie Walker and We “R” and performed regularly at the Minnesota Music Café in St. Paul. He recorded Live On Highway 55 (2013) with Paul Metsa. In 2014 harmonica player Rick Estrin invited him on tour and produced Walker’s 2015 album If Nothing Ever Changes, which led to the 2017 album After a While with Anthony Paule’s Soul Orchestra. The album earned nominations at the Blues Music Awards in 2018, and Walker was honored as the Living Blues Awards’ outstanding male blues singer in 2018.

In his later years, he toured internationally in Europe and South America. Willie Walker died on November 19, 2019, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, at age 77, shortly after returning from a recording session.