According to this MTV.com report, Wesley Willis died yesterday:
Wesley Willis, one of the most unusual characters in music, died Thursday evening, most likely from heart failure. He was 40.
The schizophrenic singer from the streets of Chicago had been recovering at an Illinois hospice after undergoing emergency surgery on June 2 to suppress and identify the source of internal bleeding, according to his record label, Alternative Tentacles, which noted that Willis died peacefully.
Willis, famous for greeting fans with a head butt, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia at the end of 2002 and his health had been deteriorating rapidly.
Wesley was an inspiration to me when I got started with the street musician thing. Before I hit the street for the very first time on that fateful first of May in 1999, I was listening to his cover of Girls on Film from the Duran Duran Tribute Album. I figured, if he could make music that was fun to listen to, so could I.
I’ll close with what Jello Biafra said about Wesley:
“Wes was deeply religious,” Biafra said. “He was afraid that if he died he would no longer get to go see bands play. If there is a hereafter I hope he’s right up front with Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, his beloved Otis Redding and his dear friend Bradley [Nowell] from Sublime ‘storming the stage’ as the crowd ‘roars like a sea monster.’ All opening for Wesley, of course.
2 replies on “Rock over London, rock on Chicago, Wesley Willis, we’ll miss you”
*GASP!* Oh, dear Lord, no! đ Wesley Willis? I absofrickinglutely do not want to believe that he’s died! Ohhhh, man. *sighs* This has been a really bad year for me, as far as “People Who Kick Ass Up an’ Dying” goes. Gregory Peck, Kate Hepburn, Barry White…and now Wesley.
I will never forget the time he played the Elvis Room, a small club/coffeehouse/bar in my neighboring city of Portsmouth, NH. The place was packed to overflowing, and we all sang along to his songs. It was a sea (albeit a small one,) of punks, skins, hippies, beatniks, and all other kinds of people, united by this one large man with a tiny Casio keyboard and small group of fellas behind him, and will always go down as one of the best shows I’ve ever attended. I was one of the people in line at the end of the show to give him a head-butt….Rock on, Wesley Willis. I’m gonna miss you.
–Kim (MizzKyttie)
Never thought we’d lose a man that some would call a mad genius. I neve got the pleasure of seeing hm live but a friend of mine brought a camcorder into a gig of his in Chicago and taped a good part of his set. I don’t think many people realize his odd genius. He was truly an innovator in the outsider music genre. What a drag to think he’s now gone.