Alta Sherral "Allee" Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019) was an American songwriter and director. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for "I'll Be There For You", which was used as the theme song for the sitcom Friends, and won two Grammy Awards for Beverly Hills Cop and The Color Purple, the latter of which was also nominated for a Tony Award. Willis also co-wrote hit songs such as "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.[2][3] She was also a renowned collector of kitsch artworks, performer, artist, campaigner and socialite
Early life
Willis was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and said she liked to hang out outside Motown Records to listen to the recording artists play. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a journalism major and sorority member. After college, she moved to New York City in 1969 and worked as a secretary at Columbia Records as a copywriter, before turning to songwriting and performing.[4]
Career
Her first and only album, Childstar, in 1974, did not sell well, and she stopped performing because she did not enjoy it. However, the album attracted the interest of Bonnie Raitt, who became the first musician to cover one of her songs. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked as a songwriter at A&M Records from 1977.[4]
She worked at a comedy club and hung posters for four years before meeting Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, with whom she wrote the lyrics for her first big hit, "September".[5] Allee Willis wrote songs for artists including Debby Boone, Rita Coolidge, Maxine Nightingale, Crystal Gayle, Sister Sledge, Jennifer Holliday, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Crystal Waters, and Taylor Dayne.[6] She was famous for her collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire, for whom she co-wrote hit songs such as "September", "Boogie Wonderland", and "In the Stone". Songs she co-composed for other artists that became hits include "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer Sisters, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" by Pet Shop Boys featuring Dusty Springfield, and "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts. "I'll Be There for You" was used as the theme song of the sitcom Friends, and went on to become one of the biggest television theme songs of all time.[7] Willis jokingly referred to this song as "the whitest song I ever wrote”.[8] In 1995 Willis was Emmy-nominated for "I'll Be There for You".[9]
In 1997, she addressed a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, to make the case for the property rights of BMI songwriters. She gave a keynote address at the first Digital World conference in 1992, and lectured on interactive journalism and on self-expression in cyberspace.[4] She also co-wrote the Tony-nominated and Grammy-winning Broadway musical The Color Purple, first performed in 2005. As of 2018, a major motion picture based on the musical was in the early stages of development, being produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, and Scott Sanders.[10]
Willis also worked as an art director and set designer, and in 2008 won awards for her work with musician Holly Palmer on the music video artwork Allee Willis Presents Bubbles & Cheesecake. As an artist, she created paintings, ceramics and sculptures, and from 2009 she curated the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch website.[4] She launched a series of fundraising events in Detroit in 2010, with marching bands, in support of the city.[4] On September 28, 2017 Willis premiered "The D", a passion project she wrote, recorded, and produced for her hometown of Detroit, at the Detroit Institute of Arts.[11]
Death
Willis died in Los Angeles on December 24, 2019, at the age of 72. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Early life
Willis was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and said she liked to hang out outside Motown Records to listen to the recording artists play. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a journalism major and sorority member. After college, she moved to New York City in 1969 and worked as a secretary at Columbia Records as a copywriter, before turning to songwriting and performing.[4]
Career
Her first and only album, Childstar, in 1974, did not sell well, and she stopped performing because she did not enjoy it. However, the album attracted the interest of Bonnie Raitt, who became the first musician to cover one of her songs. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked as a songwriter at A&M Records from 1977.[4]
She worked at a comedy club and hung posters for four years before meeting Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, with whom she wrote the lyrics for her first big hit, "September".[5] Allee Willis wrote songs for artists including Debby Boone, Rita Coolidge, Maxine Nightingale, Crystal Gayle, Sister Sledge, Jennifer Holliday, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Crystal Waters, and Taylor Dayne.[6] She was famous for her collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire, for whom she co-wrote hit songs such as "September", "Boogie Wonderland", and "In the Stone". Songs she co-composed for other artists that became hits include "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer Sisters, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" by Pet Shop Boys featuring Dusty Springfield, and "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts. "I'll Be There for You" was used as the theme song of the sitcom Friends, and went on to become one of the biggest television theme songs of all time.[7] Willis jokingly referred to this song as "the whitest song I ever wrote”.[8] In 1995 Willis was Emmy-nominated for "I'll Be There for You".[9]
In 1997, she addressed a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, to make the case for the property rights of BMI songwriters. She gave a keynote address at the first Digital World conference in 1992, and lectured on interactive journalism and on self-expression in cyberspace.[4] She also co-wrote the Tony-nominated and Grammy-winning Broadway musical The Color Purple, first performed in 2005. As of 2018, a major motion picture based on the musical was in the early stages of development, being produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, and Scott Sanders.[10]
Willis also worked as an art director and set designer, and in 2008 won awards for her work with musician Holly Palmer on the music video artwork Allee Willis Presents Bubbles & Cheesecake. As an artist, she created paintings, ceramics and sculptures, and from 2009 she curated the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch website.[4] She launched a series of fundraising events in Detroit in 2010, with marching bands, in support of the city.[4] On September 28, 2017 Willis premiered "The D", a passion project she wrote, recorded, and produced for her hometown of Detroit, at the Detroit Institute of Arts.[11]
Death
Willis died in Los Angeles on December 24, 2019, at the age of 72. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.
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