Born in Mississippi, Willie D. Freeman was a heartfelt blues singer on the West Side of Chicago until his passing in 2019. Barrelhouse Bonni and Larry Taylor produced a show at the BBF on Pulaski Road in 2013 in which Willie D sang his signature song, McKinley Mitchell's “End of the Rainbow.” Chris Wilkinson of CAN-TV taped this masterpiece. Billy “Che” Brooks, former Black Panther, introduces the song by giving the cultural context for blues on the West Side.
