Allee Willis dead at 72

Allee Willis, ‘September’ and ‘Friends’ Theme Songwriter, Dies at 72

Allee Willis, ‘September’ and ‘Friends’ Theme Songwriter, Dies at 72

 

Died of cardiac arrest.

 

Also the co-writer of PSBs / Dusty's fab duet "What Have I Done To Deserve This?"

 

She composed some terrific songs and hopefully enjoyed EW&F’s Kennedy Center honors earlier this month, sadly, her last. Thank you, and RIP.

 

RIP

 

Sad to hear this; she led a very rich and diverse career, and her work will resonate for many more years.

 

So I see this older woman on an AXS Music Show(think it was a Top 10 Theme Show) about a year ago, and she was talking about how she wrote or co-wrote 'September' by Earth, Wind and Fire. Now, I thought this was some kind of joke, as I never heard of this woman, and assumed that Maurice White and maybe a few other Band Members wrote all of their own Songs. So, I decide to look up 'September' on Wikipedia and sure enough saw her name as credited for writing this Song. I guess she was around the same age as the Band Members at the time, but this really threw me off, as wonder how this writing collaboration came to be? Was she writing Hit Songs for other R & B Music Artists? My first Earth, Wind and Fire Album was 'Touch the World' from the late '80s, but I quickly bought their earlier Albums and all Albums going forward.

RIP to Ms. Willis and thoughts go out to her Family, Friends and Music Colleagues. Nice to have learned about you through that AXS Music Show.

 

Thanks for the Variety Article Link, as now I have learned a little more about Ms Willis and her career as a Song Writer.

 

Wow, an amazing woman who had the most unlikely connection....RIP and thank you.

 

You're welcome.

 

Allee Willis | Songwriter Hall of Fame | The Color Purple Broadway

Interview With Songwriter Allee Willis

 

Has anyone ever reissued her lp Childstar on CD?

 

Here is her and Paul Reubens:

 

So sorry to hear this. I also loved her work with Herbie Hancock and Narada Michael Walden. I once wrote to her and said how much I loved the lines in Narada Michael Walden's hit "I Shoulda Loved Ya": "Apprehending all my criminal need.
That stole your heart, then left you to bleed" and she replied that it was her favorite part too. A superb talent.

 

Rest easy Allee.

 

Here is a recent photo of her:



Thousands celebrate new Detroit anthem “The D” at the DIA

 

Shame to hear this, because it’s kind of hitting me hard as well.

 

It had a CD reissue in Japan back in 2012: Allee Willis - Childstar

 

Wow, I never knew ANY of this about this woman's role in writing these great songs. I'm blown away. I'm also saddened about Ms. Willis' passing. R.I.P.

Thanks to the O.P. for posting this.

 

No problem. I'm saddened about it as well.

 

Here is a picture of Alee and one of the Del Rubio Triplets:



More information:

the del rubio triplets allee - Google Search

 

Allee grow up in Detroit in the '50s/'60s when Motown was coming up. She used to sit on the lawn with the other neighborhood kids and listen to the music being recorded at Hitsville. She was obsessed with the music. She went on to write liner notes for Columbia Records and released an album on Epic in the early '70s. Fast forward a few years, Patti Labelle had heard some of Allee's songs and flew her out to write for her. Patti recommended Allee to a friend to write some songs. That friend was Herbie Hancock. A friend of Allee's was dating Verdine White. After doing some writing with Verdine, Allee got a call from brother Maurice who asked her if she wanted to write the next EWF album. The rest is history. If you want to here Allee tell her own story, here she is on a couple recent podcasts...

Allee on What's The Tee:
Episode 223: Allee Willis — RuPaul: What's The Tee?

Allee on Sodajerker:
Episode 10 – Allee Willis

 

Vintage Los Angeles over on Faceblight has a post up about Allee, who Alison (the woman who runs the page) knew. Great photo of her and a friend with Allee at Allee's place, "Willis Wonderland" in LA.

 

She gave several interviews on Sirius radio when she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2018.

I wasn’t familiar with her body of work either and was fascinated as she talked about how working with one person would lead to another and another as more and more doors were opened for her.

 

RIP Allee Willis...terribly sad news. What a blessing she was honored in 2018 before her death. Now everytime i hear "September" on radio definitely will remember she wrote it, and many other songs!

Thank you for your creativity and desire to lift the listener up with your craft.