Wesley Willis

American Musician
Wesley Willis was an American musician and visual artist known for his unique style of partially spoken, partially sung songs with bizarre and humorous lyrics. Despite his underground career, he gained a cult following in the 1990s and influenced various media, including the Winamp slogan.

About Wesley Willis

Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) 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. 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. 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.

Willis gained a large cult following in the 1990s, particularly after the release of his 1995 Greatest Hits album on the Alternative Tentacles label. Jello Biafra compiled the album’s track list. In addition to a large body of solo musical work, Willis fronted his own punk rock band, the Wesley Willis Fiasco, during the 1990s. He was a visual artist long before he developed an interest in music, and produced hundreds of intricate, unusual, colored ink-pen drawings, most of them depicting Chicago streetscapes; he frequently sold these on the street for between $20 and $40.

Despite his mainly underground career, Willis has influenced a variety of media. For example, music software company Nullsoft took their slogan “It really whips the llama’s ass!” for Winamp from Willis’s song “Whip the Llama’s Ass”.

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Frequently asked questions about Wesley Willis

Wesley Willis was an American musician and visual artist who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989 and developed a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition.

Wesley Willis’ songs were typically partially spoken in an MC style and partially sung in a nasal and out-of-tune manner reminiscent of punk rock vocals, featuring bizarre, humorous, and sometimes obscene or absurd lyrics.

The music software company Nullsoft took their slogan ,It really whips the llama’s ass!, for Winamp from Wesley Willis’ song ,Whip the Llama’s Ass,.

Wesley Willis was a visual artist long before he developed an interest in music, and he produced hundreds of intricate, unusual, colored ink-pen drawings, most of them depicting Chicago streetscapes.

Wesley Willis gained a large cult following in the 1990s, particularly after the release of his 1995 Greatest Hits album on the Alternative Tentacles label, which was compiled by Jello Biafra.

The most prominent themes in Wesley Willis’ songs were mental illness and consumerism, with his best-known songs including ,Rock N Roll McDonald’s, and a series of songs where he would directly insult his demons.

Wesley Willis frequently sold his intricate, unusual, colored ink-pen drawings on the street for between $20 and $40, in addition to his musical work.