He was born Leonald Francois Joseph Guy Gauthier in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec the youngest son of Alfred and Evelina Gauthier. He spent his early years working in the lumber mills and forests surrounding his Northern Quebec hometown of Rouyn. He also enjoyed singing and spent his leisure hours in the local entertainment halls and clubs, crossing paths in the early 1950's with the group Ginger & The Melody Rangers. Ginger, a gifted vocalist and accordion player, was hosting her own daily radio show on CKGB (Timmins, Ontario), and was in need of a male voice to join her troupe and invited Leonald to go on tour with her and the band.
Ginger and Leonald soon became a team both on stage and off, the couple marrying in 1951, and pursuing a career in music. They toured across Canada and were a featured attraction in night clubs and on popular radio shows. During a performance in Buffalo, New York, they were seen by country star Webb Pierce who suggested they move to Nashville to further their career. Leonald required a name change to fit his new persona in Nashville, and chose something close to his long-time singing idol Hank Williams...so the pseudonym "Hal Willis" was created.
Soon after relocating in Nashville in 1955 Hal & Ginger Willis were greeted by fellow-Canadian Hank Snow and he booked the duo to tour with him and the then rising star Elvis Presley on a series of show dates in the Southern U.S., from March to October, 1956. As a result Hal & Ginger Willis and Hank Snow have the distinction of being the only Canadians to tour with Elvis Presley. The duo were also making prestigious appearances with Nashville's top stars of the day, and Ginger Willis became the first Canadian female artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, while Hal Willis has the distinction of being only the second Canadian to appear on The Opry, following in the footsteps of Hank Snow.
The Hal & Ginger Willis song "My Pink Cadillac", recorded by Hal Willis, was inspired by the pink Cadillac that Elvis Presley drove in to some of their U.S. tour dates in 1956. After a brief spell of recording rockabilly-flavoured songs (aka Hal Willis & The Woodchuckers) in the late 1950's, Hal Willis soon became a best-selling country recording artist, and scored a major hit with the Hal & Ginger Willis-penned novelty tune "The Lumberjack". The single, released on Sims Records (#207), peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts and was a #1 hit in Canada for Hal Willis. The song became so popular on the Canadian scene that it has since been covered with recorded versions by Family Brown, Tommy Hunter, Ray St. Germain, Chef Adams, Gilles Godard, Brent Williams, The Stolz Brothers and others.
Hal Willis followed up that chart success with the Sims Records single "Doggin" In The U.S. Mail" (Sims #288). During his recording career Hal Willis released singles on the Rodeo/Banff, Atlantic, Waldorf, Athens, Decca, Mercury, Sims, Wayside, etc. labels; and released several albums in the Canadian marketplace with Arc Records; while on his native Quebec scene, there were albums released on a variety of indie labels, most notably Bonanza Records.
Notwithstanding Hal Willis' million-selling hit with "The Lumberjack", it would be his songwriting, with Ginger Willis, that would attract even greater attention. The pair had their songs recorded by Nashville's top acts including Patsy Cline ("Walking Dream"); Ernest Tubb ("Educated Mama"); Charlie Walker ("Louisiana Belle"); Bobby Helms (" How Can You Divide A Little Child"); Jim Reeves ("Don't Tell Me"); The Wilburn Brothers ("Which One Will It Be"); and most notably their song "Just Ain't", which was a #14 Billboard Chart hit in 1962 for Flatt & Scruggs.
In recent years Hal Willis returned to the recording world releasing several CD albums including, "Coast To Coast", "Better 'n Ever", and the Christmas collection "Santa's Clones", all coming on his own Pearl International Records label. Sadly, Ginger Willis (born: Dorothy Jean Heppel / aka Dorothy Helena Booth) April 9, 1925 in Hamilton, Ontario, passed away October 26, 2003 in Nashville, TN.
Hal and Ginger Willis were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. On May 27, 2012, Hal Willis was also inducted to the Quebec Museum of Rock & Roll. In March 2013, at the age of 79 years, Hal released a new single "Working in the Goldmine".
Hal Willis passed on September 4, 2015 in hospital in Nashville. He was 82 years old.
