Johnnie Lee Wills, the younger brother of "King of Western Swing" Bob Wills, was born on 2 September 1912 in Hall County, Texas. He began his career alongside his brother in the Texas Playboys, playing tenor banjo, before going on to lead his own successful band, All His Boys, contributing to the western swing genre that shaped later country styles such as the Bakersfield Sound.

Johnnie initially played guitar for his father before joining Bob in the Light Crust Doughboys and then the Texas Playboys in 1933. After struggling with early solo ventures, including the Rhythmaires and a stint in Arkansas, he returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and formed All His Boys, who took over the Texas Playboys' radio slot on KVOO in 1942 and became a fixture at Cain's Ballroom. The band recorded for Decca and Bullet Records, co-writing the hit "Rag Mop" and recording the first version of "Peter Cottontail", and in 1982 represented Oklahoma at the Smithsonian Institution of American Folklife. Wills died two years later, aged 72, of heart failure.