The Night I met Willie, Ben, and Jimmy Gresham:

I first met The Greshams in 1971. I was a young sax player at a club in Ft. Walton Beach Florida, playing with " The Midnight Express" We were up on stage one night when the drummer and band leader,"Skip" McQuin, called out to the band, " Brace yourself boys, some" monster" players just came in". Skip knew them, and in fact had worked with them before. After a while he brought them up. [ I was young and maybe a little overly self assured that I was good at that moment , but all that was about to change ] I got down, and sat at a front table, thinking, now what are these guys going to do, "at least it's an extra break."... Skip, launched into "Evil Ways", that old
Santana "thang", a guy who claimed to be mostly indian was singing his name was Dusty, Jimmy was playing bass, his brother Ben was on guitar, and Willie on tenor sax. It was pretty tight, my ears perked up. And about that time Skip said it:

            { recorded on a handheld Sony cassett }

                                      Willie mp3

 Lord Have Mercy!

Later found that Willie had been on the Merv Griffin Show, Played with Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett, done an album with

Wayne Henderson of Crusader fame, and  was Johnnie Taylor's

music director. Along with having 2 hits "Step by Step" and

"I cried Boo Hoo" which are still hits on the Northern Soul

Scene.

It was my deepest honor to have shadowed a man this

beautiful. My Friend Willie.