Wet Willie

Wet Willie
Origin	Mobile, Alabama, United States
Genres	Southern rock
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Capricorn; Epic; Hittin' The Note
Associated acts	Jimmy Hall The Wet Willie Band Deep South Drippin' Wet
Website	http://www.wetwilliemusic.com
Members	Jimmy Hall Jack Hall Donna Hall Foster T.K. Lively Ric Seymour Ricky Chancey Bobby Mobley
Past members	Lewis Ross Ricky Hirsch John David Anthony Wick Larsen Ella Brown Avery Elkie Brooks Leslie Hawkins Mike Duke Marshall Smith Larry Berwald

Wet Willie is an American band from Mobile, Alabama, U.S. They are best known for their hit "Keep On Smilin'," reaching #10 on the Billboard Chart in August 1974, but had a number of charted songs in the 1970s utilizing their soulful brand of Southern rock.

Drummer Lewis Ross assembled the musicians for a group called "Fox" in the summer of 1969 and after relocating from Mobile, Alabama to Macon, Georgia, home of Capricorn Records, became known as "Wet Willie". Wet Willie is a versatile, high-energy Southern rock band that, from 1971 until 1978, produced an array of albums awash in good-time music, rollicking high-energy blues-rock, and white Southern soul while releasing several charting singles and achieving one Top Ten hit and a lot of admirers. They toured and recorded extensively from 1969 through the early Eighties, and they still perform today in two slightly different versions, depending on whether Jimmy Hall is present. When Hall is with the band, it is billed as Wet Willie; otherwise, it is billed as The Wet Willie Band.

The core members of the band during that period were Jimmy Hall, vocals, harmonica, saxophone; Jimmy's brother Jack Hall on bass; John David Anthony on keyboards; Ricky Hirsch on guitar, and Lewis Ross on drums and percussion. Wick Larsen was added as a second guitarist for a brief stay during the Wet Willie II album period. The duo of girls singing background vocals dubbed "The Williettes" were staple of the classic Wet Willie sound that featured Jimmy & Jack's sister, Donna Hall and Ella Brown Avery. For a short period of time in 1974 UK singer Elkie Brooks joined the band as a backing singer, as did future Honkette Leslie Hawkins. Michael Duke debuted on the album Dixie Rock adding keyboards and vocals and stayed with the band through their tenure in the Southern Rock era. A period of personnel and record label changes followed and in 1978 with a new Epic Records contract the new line-up included Jimmy and Jack Hall, Mike Duke, drummer T.K. Lively, and guitarists Marshall Smith and Larry Berwald through the early 80's. After a brief hiatus the band regrouped in the early 90’s featuring the siblings Jimmy, Jack and Donna Hall, original keyboardist John David Anthony and drummer T.K. Lively as well as long-time members guitarists Ric Seymour and Ricky Chancey.

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