Wesley Willis
American musician and artist (1963-2003) · United States · On the map · Musicians · Died at 40
Wesley Lawrence Willis was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition.
Wesley Willis is read about 336 times a day, in 13 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
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About this person
Willis' songs are typically partially spoken in an MC style, and partially sung in a nasal and out-of-tune manner reminiscent of punk rock vocals. They feature bizarre, humorous and sometimes obscene or absurd lyrics sung over backing created by using the auto accompaniment feature on his Technics KN keyboard. His songs cover a wide variety of topics, with mental illness and consumerism being the most prominent themes. Dubbed "The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll", he is best known for songs such as "Rock N Roll McDonald's" as well as a series of songs where he would directly insult his demons.
