Willie Cobbs

Willie Cobbs. Sounds from the Soil and Soul. , Willie Cobbs was born July 15, 1932 in Smale, a small farming town near Brinkley in Monroe County, Arkansas. Known as an American blues singer, harmonica player, songwriter, and nightclub owner, his recording career has spanned six decades. His best-known composition, "You Don't Love Me," was recorded in 1960 for Billy Lee Riley's Memphis-based Mojo label. , During his childhood, Cobbs was involved in gospel music within his community. He went to Chicago as young man, where his career as a harmonica and blues performer was jump-started by harmonica musician Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs). After serving in the National Guard from 1952-1956, he returned to Chicago in 1958 as a singer-songwriter., In the 1960s, he operated the Blue Flame blues club in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and later opened another club in DeWitt. He ran nightclubs in Arkansas and Mississippi through the 1970s and 1980s. Cobbs went on to release his first album, Hey Little Girl, in 1986 and his first CD album, Down to Earth, in 1994., After living in Mississippi for a time, he semi-retired and returned to his family home at Smale, playing primarily regional and local shows. He came back strong as ever, however, resulting in the 2019 release of Butler Boy Blues, with cutting-edge producer Michael Babb of Babylon Sound., Along with the Chicago Blues Festival, Cobbs has been a frequent performer at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, and received the "Sonny Payne Award of Blues Excellence" in 2013 from the Delta Cultural Center in Helena. He appeared in movies such as Memphis and in 1991 Mississippi Masala performing the song "Angel Heaven" and "Sad Feelin'"., The Trail , The music of the Arkansas Delta is the music of America. With roots in gospel or "church music," the blues, jazz, country, and rock n' roll flowed from the rich, fertile landscape bordering the lower Mississippi River and spread out across the country and the world. Follow the Arkansas Delta Music Trail to experience the sounds that shaped the land, its people, and the nation.