Allee Willis is DEAD to me

Never forget.

Oh god, Bruce Vilanch's mom is dead.

She was one of us. She wrote great songs that have endured for decades. This song was supposed to be about the dark side of the disco scene but she said The Emotions bring such joy and ebullience to the performance -- and with Philip Bailey's falsetto -- that most people assume it's a happy song.

Earth Wind & Fire w/ the Emotions.

Also this...

Rest in peace, woman. Thanks for the music.

Since you went away, I've been hangin' around. I been wonderin' why I'm feelin' down. You went away. It should make me feel better. But I don't know how I'm gonna get through.

Was she a trans woman?

She also was the Art Director and built the props for Just Say Julie, and threw famous pajama parties.

RIP

[Quote] Night of the Living Négligée all girl pajama party

Quite.

Since you went away I've been hanging around

I've been wondering why I'm feeling down

You went away, it should make me feel better

But I don't know how I'm going to get through

r10, meet r6.

She had a fair amount (unspoken) to do with EWF's success in its mid 70s ascent. She wrote several of their big songs.

I'd forgotten until the Kennedy Center Honors that David Foster also wrote several songs for them, and that Foster's early work had a jazz funk background. In fact, the Jaye P. Morgan smooth jazz version of Can't Find Love was more his initial sound, before he went into banal, terrible adult contemporary.

She had a wonderful wit, for sure.

"September was covered by Taylor Swift in 2018, a version described by Willis “as lethargic as a drunk turtle dozing under a sunflower after ingesting a bottle of Valium, and I thought it had all the build of a one-story motel”.

David Foster was also part of Cheryl Lynn's first record, right? I think he co-wrote "Got to Be Real" or at least played on the sessions for that album.

Seems like she was a huge fan of the green-orange colour combination.

r13 Always appreciate a quality Swift dunk.

I thought i read once that Marta Kaufman's husband wrote the Friends theme, and made a fortune doing it. Given that MK was the creator and producer of Friends, that seemed reasonable.

So what's the truth?

My absolute favorite PSB song, from 1986 and featuring DL fave Dusty Springfield...

The Friends Theme tune is credited to

[Quote] Phil Sōlem

[Quote] Danny Wilde

[Quote] David Crane

[Quote] Marta Kauffman

[Quote] Michael Skloff

[Quote] Allee Willis

I believe Allee wrote Dusty's parts in "What Have I Done to Deserve This." Perhaps she did something similar for "I'll Be There For You."

I think Allee wrote mostly the chorus of the Friends theme, and then it was expanded into a full song.

What Have I Done To Deserve This was sewn together from song segments both PSB and Allee had already written.

I met her. Fantastic Lady. Don't mean to muck up her thread, but she was a Scientologist.

Really?

She's trending on Twitter now.

[quote] I met her. Fantastic Lady. Don't mean to muck up her thread, but she was a Scientologist.

Can practicing, unabashed lesbians be Scientologists?

R24, I don't know if she was dabbling, walked away or was still practicing. When I knew her in the '80s, she was pretty heavy into it. I loved her. She showed me the painting that was her inspiration for the Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance". Everything in her house was a work of art but more folk art and it was just wonderful. She was a lovely, wonderful lady and very inspiring. She would tell you a story and you'd want to get out and try to be artistic.

Nice memory, r25. Thank you for sharing!

Also co-wrote No Jinx from Bette Midler's award-winning Jinxed! (1982)

🎼I’ll be dead before youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!🎶🎶🎶

R25, what a lovely tribute. It makes me wish I’d had the honor of knowing her.

She seems tiring.

Is she Rumer's real mother? They sure look alike.

I started following her fb page a few years ago because she did soemthing called the kitsch bitsch.

R25 Thank you for that.

One of my favourite songs from my youth. The Pointer Sisters tore it up.

(Also, the video is a rare instance of those 1980s music videos incorporating movie scenes getting it right.

"Why are you all jiggling?" lmao (yes, that's Bronson Pinchot))

Anyway, what a great song. RIP Allee