# Wesley Willis Dead at 40 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990 "2003-08-22T18:39:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/1 "2003-08-22T18:39:53Z")
[It is a sad day in the music world](http://www.alternativetentacles.com...R3ZQ3btsEWn#165). The great Wesley Willis, the man behind such classics as “Cut the Mullet” and “I Wupped Batman’s Ass” has succumbed in his battle with leukemia. A 350 pound schizophrenic from Chicago, Wesley’s music wasn’t what most people would call good, but there was just something about the man that made him pure genius. Here’s an excerpt from the article, as the site is getting slammed with visitors right now and you may not be able to get through right away: > [@](#): > > We are deeply saddened to report that one of our artists, Wesley Willis passed away yesterday, Thursday, August 21st. Wesley will be greatly missed by all that had the privilege to know him, as well as the fans who have been fortunate enough to experience his genius. > > Wesley was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) at the end of 2002, and had to undergo emergency surgery on June 2nd to identify the source of, and to suppress internal bleeding. It is not clear if this bleeding was related to his leukemia or not, and the exact cause of death is still unknown. Wesley had been recovering at a Hospice in Illinois, and since the surgery his health had deteriorated rapidly. > > His songs were simultaneously disturbing, hilarious, blunt, and intoxicating. Wesley’s sheer excitement and unaffected honesty about every cultural phenomenon, defined his music as truly individual, and truly punk rock. > > Wesley released well over 50 albums - 3 of which are on Alternative Tentacles, and a 4th, entitled, Wesley Willis Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (CD) had already been scheduled for release in October of this year. Goodbye Wesley, you will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/2 "2003-08-22T18:59:42Z")
He really whupped the donkey’s ass! Rock over London – rock on, Willis! ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/3 "2003-08-22T22:23:15Z")
At least he went down knowing that his record of having whupped Batman’s ass was unbroken. Piiiiiiink Floyd… Piiiiiiiink Floyd…! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/4 "2003-08-22T22:47:22Z")
This really sucks donkey dick. Rock on Wesley-- Heaven, home of champions. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/5 "2003-08-22T23:27:39Z")
_The vultures, the vultures The vultures, the vultures The vultures Ate his dead ass up_ More conventionally, Godspeed, Wesley-- no one will ever fill the void you’ve left behind. _Pontiac, we build excitement._ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/6 "2003-08-22T23:32:01Z")
That really sucks the polar bear’s dick. :(. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/7 "2003-08-22T23:38:39Z")
Yes, that certainly sucks the caribou’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/8 "2003-08-23T00:12:42Z")
Wesley Willis was the one guy who could have beaten Batman (and often did), regardless of prep time. I miss him already. ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/9 "2003-08-23T01:39:25Z")
I’m one of the lucky few who can say that they saw him live, sat down on the floor in front of him and got an affectionate, albeit hard, headbutt from him. Rock on Chicago. If there’s ever a Batman vs. Wesley Willis thread. Wesley would win every time. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/10 "2003-08-23T02:01:57Z")
For anyone interested, [Rollingstone](http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18568) has an article up about his death now. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/11 "2003-08-23T08:00:11Z")
Man, that’s depressing. Rest in peace, Wesley, and make sure you’re out screwing up. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JRootabega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@JRootabega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRootabega)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/12 "2003-08-23T19:44:13Z")
Heh. Nobody can mention 90% of his song titles in their articles. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/13 "2003-08-23T20:17:25Z")
I’ve got a bit of Wesley Willis on vinyl. It’s a 45 with Sublime on one side and him on the other. His shit was FUCKED up. Out of his mind. Shame to lose him. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/14 "2003-08-23T20:24:14Z")
I saw Wesley in concert a couple years ago. It was easily one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. Rock over London, rock on Chicago. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/15 "2003-08-23T21:49:15Z")
This blows. I’ll raise one for Wesley tonight. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/16 "2003-08-23T21:50:27Z")
My brother was on the Net last night, and saw this story. “Wesley Willis died!” he exclaimed to me. Of course, I wanted to know why… so we figured it must have been the leukemia. Very sad news. ☹ (we remember him best for the “Alanis Morissette” song he did a while back) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wesley-willis-dead-at-40/196990/17 "2003-08-23T22:24:41Z")
Hey, **Flammy** - I never would have pegged you for a Wesley Willis fan. (Don’t ask me why, since I have no idea what one looks like.) Every heard any Shooby Taylor? For some reason I tend to stick him in the same genre with Wesley – not that they’re anything alike, apart from being completely unlike anything else in creation. Here’s his take on [_Lift Every Voice And Sing_](http://216.232.71.251/~larry/mp3/shooby.mp3). (3mb .mp3 file) (Mods, I _think_ it’s legally kosher to link to that song – it’s not copyrighted material. That is, Shooby never bothered to get licensing for the tunes his does his unique scat to, so the recordings are freely distributed. The unlicensed material is forgotten Hammond organ recordings of public-domain music. Is this okay? Apologies if not.)