Willie Lee Brown (6 August 1900 – 30 December 1952) was a blues guitarist and singer. He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and performed from about 1916 until the start of WW2. He performed with Son House and Charlie Patton, two of the first generation blues men, and was a close personal friend of Robert Johnson. John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters both named him as an influencer on their music.

Brown is one of only a few blues men mentioned in song. Robert Johnson does a shout-out to him in his song, “Crossroads Blues”.

It’s unfortunate that much of Brown’s recordings were lost to fire. There was a calm resignation in his voice and style that’s captured on “Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor”.