Robert “Chick” Willis, also known as “The Stoop Down” Man, has passed away at the age of 79 from cancer.
Chick Willis began working with his cousin Chuck Willis in the middle 1950’s and had been performing ever since while recording 17 albums. Willis won numerous awards, including 2 Living Blues Awards. He played with the legendary Elmore James and his cousin, Guitar Slim, who he listed as one of his biggest influences. Chick also served in the military in the early 1950s before working as a chauffeur for his cousin Chuck. He won a talent show at the Magnolia Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia and made his first record in 1956, with the Ebb Records’ single “You’re Mine”. Initially, he only sang, but learned guitar while touring with his other cousin, Guitar Slim.
According to a 2012 article at the Atlanta Blues Society website, he had a mass in his chest that was pressing on his vocal chords, making him hoarse. For the first time in many years, he was unable to sing.
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RIP Stoop Down Man
