Bill Harris born 14 April 1925

Bill Harris (April 14, 1925 – December 6, 1988.) was an American guitarist who played R&B and jazz. 

Bill "Willie" Harris was born in Nashville, North Carolina. He had a thick background in bebop and swing guitar as well as gospel. The latter style was at his fingertips even before he discovered guitarists such as Oscar Moore on records and radio, since Harris' father was a preacher who was in the position to turn the church organist job over to his offspring. Meanwhile, Harris' mother was drumming in basic harmony and an uncle had chipped in with a guitar, apparently to be the beauty move. 

The Army supplied a bugle that temporarily halted progress with strings attached, so to speak. Harris was discharged in the mid-'40s and promptly began studying guitar in Washington, D.C., becoming fairly good with both jazz and classical pieces, yet in 1950 began playing with the R&B vocal group The Clovers due to a perceived scent of economic security. He remained with the group through 1958, playing on many of their most successful hit records. 

The choice, interestingly enough, still wound up leading to expanded musical horizons when fellow rhythm & blues and session guitarist Mickey Baker eavesdropped on a Harris dressing-room practice session and began pulling strings for what would be a series of releases under Harris' own name, such as the 1960 Great Guitar Sounds. The previous EmArcy Solo Guitar from 1956 is considered to be the first album of solo jazz guitar ever released. 

                             

He played in the D.C. area through the 1960s and 70s and also taught music, publishing several books on guitar technique. He was awarded a compositional fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1972.

For much of 1972-1973 Harris played in France. After returning to the U.S., Harris operated a restaurant and art gallery. He worked as an impresario late in life, organizing and presenting concerts in a variety of genres.

He began managing his jazz club Pigfoot in D.C., but the club was repossessed by the Internal Revenue Service in 1981 to collect back taxes. Harris and his wife Fannie lost their home in 1987 in the same dispute with the IRS. As he struggled with his finances, his friends rallied to benefit concerts to defray the cost of his medical bills. 

Bill Harris died December 6, 1988 at the Howard University Hospital, Washington D.C. of pancreatic cancer at the age of 63. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & All Music)

Below is a promotional video for bluesman Bill Harris which was produced shortly before his death.