Dick “Wild Willie” Judkins

From Durham, Wild Willie Judkins began playing alto saxophone while in high school. His sister taught him to play, but his band director discouraged his interest in popular music. He gave up music, then, until he enrolled at North Carolina College [now NC Central University]. But after he heard Coleman Hawkins, he knew he’d have to learn tenor sax, so he bought a new horn and began his studies again and soon also learned baritone sax. 

He told Otto Harris that his greatest thrill was “When I sat in with Hot Lips Page and his band.”

Harris, Otto. “Musically Speaking.” Peal City, HA. The Mananan. 13 Sept. 1945: 7.