Reverend Billy C. Wirtz (born William McLean Wirths on September 28, 1954) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician, comedian and writer. His material consists of comedy routines set to music.

Early life and education

William Wirths was born in Aiken,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. His father worked for the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by the U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry ...

, and his mother was a writer and sociologist who worked to reform the police department. The family moved to Washington, D.C., when William was eight years old.

Career

The comedy album boom of the early 1960s was a significant influence, particularly

Allan Sherman Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon or Allan Gerald Copelon; November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973) was an American musician, satirist, and television producer who became known as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, '' M ...

's ''My Son, The Folksinger''. He started playing guitar at ten, and played in cover bands in his early teens. Working at the Waxie Maxie's Record Store helped broaden his taste, discovering the blues, as well as jazz and gospel. Wirtz developed a friendship with blues pianist

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

who invited him to Chicago in June 1979. He began his career as a solo artist in 1981. In 1982, he recorded his first album, ''Salvation Through Polyester'', on No Big Deal Records. His song "Teenie Weenie Meanie", described as "a tasteful vignette about a

midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a Medical terminology, medical term like ''dwarf'' (for a person with d ...

lady

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

" led to a six-month-long contract as a "Manager" with Professional Wrestling From Florida (PWF). While there he worked with Dennis "Mideon" Knight,

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and ...

, Gigolo Jimmy Backlund, and Dallas Page. Twelve years later, he returned to professional wrestling with a three-month stint on WTBS ''

Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...

''.

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

have showcased Wirtz's talents, along with nationwide morning radio shows. Similarly, "Waffle House Fire" has been featured on

XM Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable t ...

's Channel 151,

Laugh USA Pure Comedy is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring family comedy and broadcasts on channel 98. The channel's slogan is "Comedy for Everyone." The comedy aired sometimes contains mild profanities and slightly risqué material, and is only very ...

. Wirtz performs concerts and teaches workshops on blues and gospel music. In 1990, his album ''Backslider's

Tractor Pull Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farth ...

'' won an award for Comedy Album of the Year by the

National Association of Independent Record Distributors The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) is a trade association that represents independent record labels in the United States, founded in 2005. A2IM is headquartered in New York City, with chapters located in Nashville, Chicago, North ...

. Found on that album is his parody about the

Waffle House Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 2,000 locations in 25 states in the United States. The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon. The menu consists mainly o ...

restaurant chain. On his album ''Unchained Maladies'' (1998), he covered

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, often Music and politics, political songs that ...

's "I Hold Your Hand In Mine". He created a humorous church known as The First House Of Polyester Worship and Horizontal Throbbing Teenage Desire, and Our Lady of the White Go-Go Boot, Lord of the 40-Watt Undulating Bubbling

Lava Lamp A lava lamp is a decorative lamp that was invented in 1963 by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker, the founder of the lighting company Mathmos. It consists of a bolus of a special coloured wax mixture inside a glass vessel, the remainde ...

Apocalyptic, No Pizza Take-Out After Twelve, Shrine Of The Rick Flair ‘WOOOO’, Rasslin' Jeezus. In 2008, Circumstantial Productions published Wirtz's first book, ''Sermons & Songs'', edited by Richard Connolly. In September 2012, Wirtz published his second book, ''Red Headed Geek'', with Holy Macro Books. As of 2014, he hosts a radio program on

WMNF WMNF (88.5 MHz) is an FM non-commercial community radio station in Tampa, Florida. It is owned by the Nathan B. Stubblefield Foundation and it airs a mix of music shows and news programming. It is supported by listener contributions and ha ...

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, Florida.

Personal life

Wirtz is married and resides in

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most popul ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He tours solo, also with The Nighthawks.

Discography

Singles

*"Stairway to Freebird/On the Rag Again" – No Big Deal Records (1984) *"Rib Ticklin" – Memphis in May International Festival Inc (2000) *"The Best of the Wirtz" (5 track Radio promo) – HighTone Records (2001)

Albums

* ''Salvation Through Polyester'' – No Big Deal Records (1983) * ''Deep Fried and Sanctified'' – King Snake Records (1988), re-released 1989 on HighTone Records * ''Backslider's Tractor Pull'' – HighTone Records (1990) * ''A Turn For the Wirtz: Confessions of a Hillbilly Love God'' – HighTone Records (1992) * ''Pianist Envy'' – HighTone Records (1994) * ''Songs of Faith and Inflammation'' – HighTone Records (1996) * ''Unchained Maladies'' – HighTone Records (1998) * ''The Best of the Wirtz'' – HighTone Records (2001) * ''Rev Elation'' – Rest Stop Records (2004) * ''Sermon from Bethlehem'' –

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

(2006) * ''Pianist Envy – Group Therapy''. (with Victor Wainwright, as Pianist Envy) – (2008, later reissued as Roll Models Piana vs Piano) * ''Full Circle'' – EllerSoul Records (2016)

References

External links

* *
Hightone Records web archive

Blind Pig Records profile

Roanoke College's profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirtz, Billy C.L 1954 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American comedians American blues singers American male singers Songwriters from South Carolina People from Aiken, South Carolina 21st-century American male musicians Blind Pig Records artists American male songwriters