"WESLEY WILLIS - THE DADDY OF ROCK 'N' ROLL" (2003)

Starring: Wesley Willis
Directed by Daniel Bitton

Polly Staffle Rating: **

Wesley Willis did what many of us will never get to do. He was an artist. He was a singer that made over 50 albums. He was a rock star. But he was more than that. Willis was a man that overcame many obstacles, and whether it was through his music or in person, he was able to put a smile on almost every face he came in contact with.

In Daniel Bitton's documentary "Wesley Willis - The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll" we get to spend some time with Willis. We see him at a computer in Kinkos banging out the lyrics to a song, in a studio recording his music and walking the streets selling his CDs.

Many that saw Willis actually thought he was some homeless guy that wondered the streets of Chicago because he had no choice. The 6-foot-6 400-pound man lived a simple life, but he was no simple man. Willis, who spoke in the exact same pattern he sang his lyrics, was extremely complex.

He was a song writer. He could write about anything. Sure, most of his songs are extremely similar with a commercial slogan tacked on at the end. But no matter what the subject was or how funny his final product was, he was as serious a musician as Kurt Cobain.

He loved to draw. Despite being a successful musician, he still rode the city bus and most of his artwork featured buses or things you would see while riding one.

He was gentle, friendly and childlike. He was touchy-feely and would shake someone's hands for as long as they would allow him. He loved to give and receive small loving head butts. He was the kind of guy that if a stranger told him at a concert to look them up the next time he was in their city, he would take a vacation and show up on their door step ready for a stay.

He collected clocks, we find out in a deleted scene that should have been kept in the film. Willis would spend $350 on a clock, but not just any clock. He was fond of the big clocks he had seen in his school growing up and had one in each room of his house.

He was also a survivor, who in his words had gone through many a "hell ride." He struggled with his weight. He was abused as child. He overcame racism and extreme poverty. His face bares a scar from a time he was slashed with a box cutter. He battled mental illness his entire life. Willis had chronic schizophrenia and had three demons that haunted him. He said the demons talked to him and told him what to do. He named them Nervewrecker, Heartbreaker, and Meansucker. To get the demons to leave him alone, he bought books about animals and wrote what he called "bestiality" songs. He would share this information with store clerks as he searched for new
animal reading material.

Willis also appeared to me to be possibly autistic. He would spit out dates and events with ease and seemed to be fond of numbers. Many of his songs were about crimes and how long a prison sentence was handed down for the wrong doing.

Willis lived life in search of a "Harmony Joy Bus Ride" and loved to proclaim how he was a rock star, telling complete strangers all about himself. But he also seems sad and lonely in the film. There are individuals that seem to be genuine in their dealings with him, but sometimes it is hard to tell if all the people he surrounded himself with really cared for him. Often it feels as though he is being laughed at, as opposed to with. I imagine he was sometimes exploited with out him even knowing it. You know there were a lot of people that probably did take advantage of him. Sadly, that's how most people are when they come across vulnerable and naive individuals they can get something out of. It's happened to the best of them, from Michael Jackson to Mike Tyson. This isn't a very well made documentary or topics like that would be mentioned.

Despite a short running time and the film's limitations, "The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll" is still worth a watch to see Willis, who is an example for all of us to follow. He definitely made the best of his time on Earth. He died young at 40-years old due to complications stemming from leukemia in 2003. Willis supporter Jello Biafra, who many credit with discovering the singer in 1994, did not appear in the film. But he summed up Willis best in an Alternative Tentacles press release the day after his death.

"It will be hard now that he's gone, but I'm not going to let myself stop enjoying the funny stuff, or the look on people's faces when they first hear 'Rock 'n' Roll McDonalds,' or the memories of the good times and Wesley's many adventures. He wouldn't want it any other way. There are many down times when all I have to do is think of one of Wes's songs, something he said or simply marvel at his Wesley-isms, and the clouds part and a smile comes to my face. I think he does that for a lot of people. He always will." - Jello Biafra

Recommended Wesley Willis Tracks

"They Threw Me Out Of Church"
"Make Sure I'm Out Screwing Up"
"Cut The Mullet"
"I Broke Out Your Windsheild"
"Rock 'n' Roll McDonalds"
"I'm Sorry That I Got Fat"
"Kill Whitey"

- CCF, February 2006