Born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1949, Willie James Shay started playing the harmonica at age 7. At age 13 he played harp in a jug band before being introduced to the guitar. He played in a Travis-style finger-pick before going to a hybrid picking pick and fingers. From then on the guitar and willie were inseparable.
His early influences were Rev. Gary Davis, John Hammond, Bob Dylan, Mississippi John Hurt, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, and the great virtuoso solo-jazz-guitarist Joe Pass.
At about 15 he began playing electric in the styles of Freddie King, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. At 20, Willie first heard Ry Cooder, giving great influence to him then and still to this day.
From 1968 to 1969 Willie played lead guitar and harmonica in the short-lived horn band, Ambergris. Produced by Steve Cropper and recorded for Paramount Records. The band notably opened for Rod Stuart and James Taylor giving way to shows throughout the United States.
In 1970 he moved to northern California where he successfully played guitar and continued playing in bands. Reputably leading to a tour in England and Ireland with Gene Clark of The Byrds.
In 1979, Willie attended Cabrillo College where he studied composition, jazz, improvisation, and guitar. This was also the beginning of him playing solo in a host of restaurants and wineries across northern California.
In the early 1990’s he moved to the midwest. Making his way to Des Moines, Iowa - where he currently resides. In 1995 Willie entered the Central Iowa Blues Competition where he placed 2nd against eleven bands as a solo artist.
In 1998 he recorded and released his first album entitled Peace with his own original compositions under Great Plains Records. The album received airplay on a number of college stations across the country including but not limited to NYC and Austin.
To this day Willie continues to play as a solo finger-style guitarist in the style of jazz, blues, Latin, and classical. Done in a style which is best known as hybrid-fingerpicking - that uses both a pick and fingers. He also has four self-published lesson books in the style of fingerpicking; Cycling on the Guitar, Basic Finger-picking, Arpeggio Deluxe, and Arpcycling On the Guitar.