Music
Eddie Willis
1936–2018 · guitarist
Funk Brothers guitarist, raised in Detroit from age 14, whose muted "chank" rhythm guitar colors Motown hits from "Please Mr. Postman" to "I Was Made to Love Her".
- Born
Grenada, Mississippi- Died
Gore Springs, Mississippi
aged 82- Also known as
- Chank
- Detroit years
- c. 1950–1972
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Mississippi and slowed by childhood polio, Willis taught himself guitar from blues and country radio and moved to Detroit at 14. He spent his teens in local bands until Berry Gordy hired him; his first Motown session was Marv Johnson's "Come to Me" in 1959, and he stayed with the studio band until the company left Detroit in 1972. His trademark was a short, muted guitar stab timed with the snare drum, a sound that gave him the nickname "Chank" and runs through the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman", the Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do", the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her". He favored a Gibson Firebird, and on some records played an electric sitar. He later worked with Phil Collins and died in Mississippi in 2018.
Highlights
- Funk Brothers guitarist from 1959 to 1972
- First Motown session: Marv Johnson's "Come to Me" (1959)
- Played on "Please Mr. Postman" and "I Was Made to Love Her"
- Electric sitar on the Supremes' "No Matter What Sign You Are"
- Played on Phil Collins's Going Back (2010)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1959–1972
Motown Museum
Played on Motown sessions in Studio A, the basement room the musicians nicknamed the "Snake Pit".