Delta Soul

Featured in a March 1990 live performance in Vienna, Austria Willie Kent (bass and vocals) plays with the Mojo Blues Band.

Willie Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi on February 24, 1936. In 1952 he arrived in Chicago, where he soon was working all day and listening to music all night. One of his co-workers was cousin to Elmore James – and Willie Kent (still underage) took to following that famous bluesman from club to club, absorbing his music.

Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago’s clubs since the 1950s, Kent worked full time until he was over 50 years of age. Following heart surgery, he stopped work as a truck driver, and formed a band. His impassioned singing was deemed similar to both Byther Smith and John Primer.

In early 2005, Kent was diagnosed with cancer, but continued his busy live schedule in spite of chemotherapy treatments. He died in Englewood, Illinois on March 2, 2006.

Really The Blues is sponsored by Jazz on the Tube
Click here to Support US