Willie Pooch

Columbus legend Willie Pooch was born William Johnson in Tupelo, Mississippi. His early musical training came from singing gospel in church. At 13, Pooch moved to Chicago. During the early 50s, he went to the clubs in town and developed a passion for blues.

Pooch has played with Elmore James, Freddy King, and Luther Allison's bands, mostly on bass guitar, occasionally playing lead. With Viberations, Pooch sang lead vocals, performing any blues song he could and sharing the role on lead guitar.

Once Pooch made Columbus, Ohio, his home, he formed the Soul Twisters, a blues band that played locally and regionally. After a 16 year collaboration with Dave Workman, Pooch joined the DeMarco Brothers, and now plays with his own group, The Willie Pooch Band, with Rick Collura, Dave Lyons, Yorki Proctor, and Jeff Johnson. The seventy-three year old is now known as Columbus' “Grandfather of Blues”.