Willie Redbone

Willie's Biography

I was born in Ohio, spent my formative years in Arkansas and was weaned on Rossinni, Ray Charles, Wayne Raney, Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Carol King and Willie Nelson.

I played alto sax in high school and sang in the choir both at school and in church. I also studied classical guitar for two years in the early 70’s, but then I put my musical career on hold for a family, a subdivision and a job through the 80’s and early 90’s.

A sudden loss of sight in 1993 changed my life forever. While living in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, I spent the next few years regaining my sight as well as gaining some valuable insight. Then, I went through a divorce, lots of beer, and found the wisdom of my best friend “Popcorn” invaluable as I finally figured out what I wanted and what my life was all about.

In 1998 at a music festival in Winfield, Kansas, what I really wanted to do materialized around a campfire when I sang my first song in public. It was at that moment I decided that music would be my final endeavor on Earth.

I bought a large school bus in 1999 and went out on the road full time. I began traveling from one music festival to another all across Canada and the United States, playing at campfires at first and then I had my first stage performance at the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite, California in 2000.

Since then, I’ve been playing, singing and writing songs wherever I was for anyone from Texas to Washington State and a few places in northern Florida as well... radio bars, restaurants, parks, festivals... you name it. I really like to think of myself as a story teller, passing on these insightful stories through my music. Through the years, I’ve written a few songs about my own personal story and really enjoy sharing these as well as the stories of many others through the songs they’ve handed down... we all have a story which is worth telling and yes, even singing about.

My best friend here in Mazatlán is Willie Redbone, a very talented country musician who has a unique style of singing and playing which has resulted in a growing following down here. He is currently performing on Thursday nights at Topolo, a very nice restaurant and bar in the Historic District of the old downtown area of Mazatlán. His website is: www.willieredbone.com where you can listen to one of his songs.

In January 2007 he released three CDs, with 12 songs on each, which were recorded during his performance at Topolo on the 28th of December 2006. There is also a collection of all the songs on these three CDs which has also been released on one single CD which is in the MP3 format. Information about all these CDs can be obtained by sending an email to: williegetcd@yahoo.com

Willie and me enjoying a beer at the Belmar last year.