Charles William Harris best known by the stage name Wee Willie Harris had an estimated net worth of $1-5 million at time of death, according to various online sources.
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A majority of Harris’ estimated net worth was accrued from his music career, which span decades.
Harris, who was born on 25 March 1933, passed away Thursday 27 April 2023 at age 90. His death was confirmed by Sheila, his wife of 47 years.
Harris is best known for his energetic stage shows and TV performances starting in the 1950s, when he was known as “Britain’s wild man of rock ‘n’ roll”.
He is also known for inspiring John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Willie Harris soared in popularity as a performer on TV shows and in live performances, and was known for his unrelenting energy, multicoloured dyed hair (often green, orange or pink), and clothes.
When he performed in Liverpool in 1958, Paul McCartney and John Lennon reportedly stood in line to get his autograph.
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He joined a UK tour in May 1960 that also included Conway Twitty, Freddy Cannon, and Johnny Preston.
In the 1960s, he continued to record for HMV, Polydor, and Parlophone and perform on cruise ships in the UK and other countries.
He was a resident of Prestwich, close to Manchester, in the middle of the 1970s, and after Ian Dury mentioned him in the song “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3,” he made a comeback as a nostalgia act in the late 1970s.
In 2000, Harris released Twenty Reasons To Be Cheerful, an album he later dedicated to Dury. In 1999, his early recordings were also made available on CD.
Harris made a “mystery guest” appearance on the comedy music quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2005.
He spoke about rock & roll in Britain in an interview with Melvyn Bragg six years later for the Reel History of Britain series.
2018 saw the release of I Go Ape! – The Wee Willie Harris Story by Rob Finnis, a 30-track CD with the greatest of Harris’ rock and roll recordings and an 88-page illustrated biography.
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