About Willie James Shay
Willie James Shay, born in 1949 in Mount Vernon, New York, is a masterful finger-style guitarist whose eclectic career spans jazz, blues, Latin, and classical genres. Starting on harmonica at age seven and guitar by thirteen, Shay developed a distinctive hybrid fingerpicking technique influenced by legends such as Rev. Gary Davis, Joe Pass, John Coltrane, and Wes Montgomery.
In the late 1960s, he played lead guitar and harmonica with the horn band Ambergris, produced by Steve Cropper, opening for acts like Rod Stewart and James Taylor. His musical journey led him from New York to California—touring England and Ireland with Gene Clark of The Byrds—and eventually to Des Moines, Iowa, where he remains an active performer and educator.
Shay’s 1998 album Peace featured original compositions and received national college radio airplay. A respected soloist, he has also authored four instructional books on fingerpicking technique, contributing richly to the American jazz and blues tradition.