Allee Willis » My Songs

With Patti LaBelle, the first artist to regularly record my songs staring in 1978 – 1/9/08 at The Color Purple.

Brenda Russel, Fantasia, Stephen Bray and me on Fantasia’s opening night in The Color Purple, 4/10/07

Me, Bebe Winans and Brenda Russell 1/9/08 on Bebe’s opening night as Harpo in The Color Purple On Broadway.

With Chaka Khan, 12/07

With Deborah Cox, 2/17/07

Fantasia, Brenda Russell, Marsha Norman and me on Fantasia’s closing night in The Color Purple, 1/6/08

Me, Eartha Kitt and Brenda Russell, 12/05/06

Nick Ashford, Patti LaBelle, Brenda Russell and me, 1/9/08

Me, Patti Austin, Donna Summer, Brenda Russell after seeing The Color Purple in December, 2005 right after it opened on Broadway.

Me and Brenda Russell, Chaka Khan, Sami McKinney, Patti LaBelle and Montego Glover on Chaka’s opening night as Sofia in The Color Purple on Broadway 1/9/08.

Me, Nick Ashford, Maurice White, LaChanze (Celie in The Color Purple) and Valerie Simpson at the opening of Hot Feet, the Earth, Wind & Fire musical, In NYC, 05.01.06.

Going to the Grammy’s in 1986 with Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, where I won for Best Soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop for The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” and Patti LaBelle’s “Stir It Up”.

1986. Accepting the Grammy for Best Soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop for The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” and Patti LaBelle’s “Stir It Up”.

Writing with Motown Legend Lamont Dozier.

LA, 1988. At my art opening at Harry’s with Maurice White, founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire who gave me my big break along with his brother Verdine, when he called one night in 1978 and aske me “if I wanted to write the next Earth, Wind & Fire album with him.” I met EWF the next day and started writing “September”. That went on their “Greatest Hits Vol. I” LP and over the next few months I co-wrote all but two songs on the “I Am” album as well as “Boogie Wonderland” with Jon Lind. I’m writing with Maurice again for the Earth, Wind & Fire musical, “Hot Feet”

1982, L.A. Writing with Jon Lind, who I wrote “Boogie Wonderland” with in 1978.

1979, Trader Vic’s in L.A. With Carole Childs, who put me with Verdine White which led to me writing with Earth, Wind & Fire. Carole was one of the most instrumental people in my record career.

1978, L.A. At Crystal Sound Studios with Denise Williams and Melissa Manchester recording the demo of “Holding On To The Loving”, which Melissa recorded that same year.

L.A. 1982. In my kitchen writing with Narada Michael Walden.

1989. L.A. With the drum kit I build for Breakfast Club’s “Right On Track” video made out of car tires, frying pans and shoes.

1995, Beverly Hills, CA. Accepting an award for “I’ll Be There For You”. the theme from Friends, at the BMI Pop Awards for one of the most played songs of the year.

LA, 1986. Writing “Live My Life” for Biy George with Paul Fox and Franne Golde.

In a motel room on the road with The Harlettes in 1975 playing my bell chimes, one of the few times I played them with sticks. I usually put thimbles on my fingers and used it like a piano.

1974, NYC. With my backup group, The Angel Babies (L-R) Michelle Cobb, Fonzi Thornton, me and Edna Holt. They brought Luther Vandross with them to play piano for their audition.

With Rick Marotta, who in 1975 produced my second LP that was never released during the building of my demo studio in the early 80’s which he oversaw. We also wrote and went to therapy together.

The first billboard of one of my songs in 1978 next to A&M Records in LA.

LA. 1979. In my apartment on Orange Ave. with Howdy Doody, some of my vintage tv’s and my first gold records for Earth, Wind & Fire.

Writing with Holly Palmer and Lamont Dozier in 2000.

1975. LA. Bruce Roberts, one of my favorite music collaborators, and I with Joan Collins during a week long stay at her house.

Signing my publishing deal at A&M / Almo Irving in 1977 after every other publisher in Los Angeles turned me down. I got eight songs recorded over the next three months including my Maxine Nightenagale hit “Lead Me On” and Rita Coolidge’s “Love Me Again”. (L-R) Shelley Weiss, Connie Pappas, Chuck Kaye, me, Ken Fritz, who somehow gets 20% of my publishing on all the songs I wrote between 1977 and 1981 to this day, and Lance Freed.

With Kathy Carey, Ronnie Vance and my dog Orbit when I signed my publishing deal at Unicity/MCA in 1981. I wrote “Neutron Dance” and “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” while I was there.

1985, Beverly Hills CA. Accepting an award for “Neutron Dance” at the BMI Pop Awards for one of the most played songs of the year.

1994, LA. With my longtime lawyer, Gary Gilbert.

Halloween 1985. With Arnold McCuller, singer extraordinaire who sang the demos of “Boogie Wonderland” and “Neutron Dance”.

In World Famous Orbit Sound, my bedroom demo studio, in 1993 with my second Powerbook, a I80. I bought my first one, a I40, in December 1991, the first day they were in the stores.

Going over last minute details with the fabulous Del Rubio Triplets who were about to sing my Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield hit “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” at my “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” art opening at the Dorothy Goldeen art gallery in Santa Monica, CA. 1988.

Big Adventure

“Big Adventure”, a special edition picture disk I co-wrote with Don Freeman and recorded as a duet with Pee-wee, aka Paul Reubens, in 1985 that was meant to be the opening title song for the Big Adventure movie until Danny Elfman refused to have any other music other than his own and “Tequila” in it.

“Big Adventure”
special edition picture disk
1985
back cover

“Big Adventure”
special edition picture disk
1985

“Big Adventure”
special edition picture disk
1985
back

1968, L.A. Me with the other artists in “Harry” show. Harry Segil, Sheila Klein, Pamela Goldblum, Liz Young, Jim Reva Lisa Weger and Andre Miripolsky.

L.A. 1997. At my birthday party with Verdine White, bass player extraordinaire and founding member of Earth, Wind & Fire, who I started writing with in 1978 and who told his brother Maurice that I should be writing with the group.

Earth, Wind & Fire, 1978

1987. The drum set made out of tires, hub caps, frying pans and a shoe I built for Stephen Bray for the Breakfast Club video “Right On Track”

2002, L.A. Stephen Bray playing washboard on one of our demos for The Color Purple.

2001, L.A. At my house with Jenifer Aniston during a photo shoot for the jenxxonvoxxy.com site I designed.

1994, L.A. At the BMI Pop Awards with fantastic songwriter Franne Golde, one of my first collaborators.

Bette Midler and The Harlettes, 1975.

LA. 1987. At a party thrown by Clive Davis for Whitney Houston with Narada Michael Walden, with whom I wrote “I Shoulda Loved Ya” and Luther Vandross, who I met in 1973 and recorded a duet with of a early song I wrote called “Little Orphan Allee”.

World Famous Orbit Sound, my bedroom recording studio, in the mid-80’s.

1984, LA. (L-R) Arnold McCuller, Irene Cara, me and Charlotte Crossley.

My “desk” circa 2004. Two G5 Macs for animation, music and writing, one G4 Mac for Pro Tools recoding of writing sessions, one imac for DVD transfers and webcams, three G4 17″ Powerbooks (only one of which made the photo) for everything else and working away from home, all netwoked together. The main recording computers and equipment are across the room.

The main recording workstation. 2004

My recoding studio in the early 80’s.

My recording studio in the early 80’s, featuring my Prophet I0. Everyone else has Prophet 5’s so I was very boastful about my I0 though I never really learned how to use it.

My recording studio in the early 80’s, featuring my first Logix 80s mixing board, the very first reel to reel tape recorder I bought when I started writing the songs in 1972 and my very first boom box cassette recorder I bought the day after I started writing “September” in 1978 because that’s what everyone in Earth, Wind & Fire owned.