About Willis Laurence James
Willis Laurence James (September 18, 1900 – December 27, 1966) was an American musician, composer and educator. He was on the faculty of Spelman College for more than three decades. == Biography == Willis James was born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, and was raised in Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida. Educated at the Florida Baptist Academy in Jacksonville, he studied violin with Sidney Woodward. Woodward recognized his musical talent and took James for further study to Atlanta, Georgia, where from the age of 16 he was the protégé of Kemper Harreld, a concert violinist and head of the Morehouse College music department. James enrolled at Morehouse in 1919, and his studies included the traditional core of music courses, as well as the violin and several other instruments. He was a member of the Morehouse Quartet and Glee Club, and played violin in the college orchestra. James showed great promise as a concert violinist and performed as a recitalist and soloist throughout his career. After receiving his B.A. from Morehouse in 1923, James pursued further study with Oswald Blake and Edwin Gerschefski at the Chicago Musical College. James began his teaching career at Leland College in Baker, Louisiana (1923–29), and it was while living in Louisiana that he began collecting folklore and folksongs, particularly along the levees of the Mississippi River.
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