Born January 24, 1904 in Michigan Mississippi,died on April 16, 1954. Fiddler Will Batts was the primary instrumentalist in Jack Kelly's South Memphis Jug Band, a popular string band whose music owed a heavy debt to the blues as well as minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels and rags. Batts was working as a farm hand when he decided to pursue a career in music full-time; he soon joined Kelly's band, a fixture of the Beale Street area, and in 1933 they made their first recordings, followed in 1939 by a second and final session. Batts also backed a variety of other Mem… read more
Born January 24, 1904 in Michigan Mississippi,died on April 16, 1954. Fiddler Will Batts was the primary instrumentalist in Jack Kelly's South Memphis Jug Band, a popular string band whose music owed a heavy debt to the blues as well as minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels and rag… read more
Born January 24, 1904 in Michigan Mississippi,died on April 16, 1954. Fiddler Will Batts was the primary instrumentalist in Jack Kelly's South Memphis Jug Band, a popular string band whose music owed a heavy debt to the blues as well as minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels and rags. Batts was working as a farm hand when he decided to pursue a career … read more