Millard Leon (a/k/a Willie) West was born in Raceland, LA, near the city where his music career got off the ground, New Orleans. West, while never widely known outside soul aficionado circles, did produce a string of classic 45s on numerous labels in the 60's & early 70's including Rustone, Deesu, Chess, Josie, Warner Bros and Frisco. He recorded with seminal NOLA figures like Allen Toussaint and was backed by The Meters on the soundtrack to the film Black Samson.

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