b. 28 March 1957, Longview, Texas, USA. Willis took up the bass when he was 13 years old, playing initially in church. Two years later, he also began playing guitar and studying harmony. After a while using both instruments, he abandoned the guitar to concentrate on bass. Although he studied music, for some time at North Texas State University, on the instrument he was entirely self-taught. Mostly, he played in casual settings, sitting in with other musical students and just playing for kicks. Eventually, however, he realized that he could combine doing what he loved to do wit...