Herman Willett was born in the Parish of St. Mary, Cayon on June 17th, 1911. His early interest in music was spurred at the Bethel Moravian Church School where music was featured highly in the schools curriculum. At an early age his father gave him the head of a violin which he utilized to reconstruct a good sounding violin. This was to begin what was to become an exemplary musical ability. Herman befriended the violin to the point where it became almost like an appendage, taking it everywhere he went. Very often he would take it to school and hide it under his bench only to take it out when the teacher was absent and entertain his other classmates. Everyone who witnessed Herman's exceptional intuitive ability on the violin agreed that he was definitely a child prodigy. As he grew, his virtuosity on his instrument made him known throughout the island as a great fiddler.

Some years later he became the driving force behind the formation of the very first string band and orchestra in Cayon. Both bands became the hub around which social life in the community revolved, whether it was at the popular dances of the times called "shoeshines", Service - of - Songs, Tea Meetings or Garden Parties. On these occasions it was quite fascinating to see Herman display his versatility on all the musical instruments.

In 1945 while working on a steam-engine as a switch-man, misfortune struck him when a piece of red hot coal pitched out of the engine fire hole he was packing and landed on his eye ball, eventually rendering him totally blind. This did not daunt his spirit for one moment, instead his love and attachment to his music and in particular his violin rose to another level earning for himself the title of "Blind Genius". The Blind Genius as he came to be known was at everybody's beck and call, particularly the churches who were the beneficiaries of this great exponent of the musical art-form.

For every concert held in the community Herman's performance on the violin was always an important feature and very often he would play to standing ovations and encores. Up until his death Herman Willett's life was a tale of sustained, progressive achievement along with admirable, undaunted courage and high spirits that never flagged, always finding solace in his music.