OBITUARIES
July 1, 2005 - Obie Benson Dies At 69
On Friday, July 1st, at 10 a.m. EST, Renaldo "Obie" Benson of The Four Tops passed away at Detroit's Harper Hospital. The cause of death was lung cancer. Obie Benson was 69 years old.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson was born on June 14th, 1936. A founding member of The Four Tops in 1953, Obie sang bass for them for an amazing 52 years. Their smooth dance steps & harmonies were revered by millions of music lovers, world wide.
Their hits, such as "Reach Out", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", "I Can't Help Myself", "Still Water (Peace)", "Baby I Need Your Loving", "Ask The Lonely", "Shake Me, Wake Me", "Ain't No Woman", "When She Was My Girl" & "I Believe In You & Me", are still staples of Classic Soul & Pop radio programming.
Obie also gained fame as co-writer of one of the most important songs ever, Marvin Gaye's phenomenal, "What's Goin' On". During the Vietnam era, "What's Going On" served to shine a light on the war & helped bring some much needed attention to the situation.
It's relevance & power was such, that it changed the course of Soul music history, helping to usher in an era that found Soul Music writing about social issues & ills, as never before. In effect, "What's Goin' On" served as the conscience of Soul Music & after that song, Soul Music was never again the same.
Two of Obie's last performances was on The David Letterman Show, on March 15th, where he appeared with The Four Tops, backed by Jack Ashford & Band. The next night, he appeared with the Four Tops for a PBS taping of a tribute to Levi Stubbs.
In late May, due to circulatory problems, Obie had a leg amputated. Shortly thereafter, he suffered a heart attack. Almost immediately after that, Obie was diagnosed with lung cancer & it was very aggressive, as he immediately began stage 4 chemotherapy during the week before he died.
Obie leaves behind two daughters, Tobi & Eboni, two granddaughters, Zion & Mya & ex-wife & friend, Valaida. Obie also leaves behind a host of family & friends & a multitude of music fans all over the world, who will miss his smiling face.
Obie Benson - R.I.P.
For More About Obie, Click Here
Click Here To See Pictures Of Obie Performing for the upcoming PBS Special
July 1st, 2005 - Luther Vandross Dies
One of the greatest voices in Soul Music history has been stilled. On Friday July 1st, 2005, Luther Vandross passed away at New Jersey's John F. Kennedy Medical Center, at 1:47 P.M., E.S.T. Luther Vandross was 54, no cause of death was given.
Luther had suffered a major stroke on Wednesday, April 16th, 2003 & spent over 2 months in a coma. Even though he came out of the coma, he never fully recovered from the stroke.
Although there have been published news reports which stated that Luther resumed his recording career following his stroke, those reports are false. Though Luther made a taped appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as The Grammys, where he sent a thank you on videotape, Luther never recorded again.
Following his stroke, his final CD, "Dance With My Father" was released. "Dance With My Father" proved to be a phenomenal success & sadly, a bittersweet one, as it serves as somewhat of an epitaph for Luther. In 2004, the "Dance With My Father" CD won 3 Grammys. "Dance With My Father" won "Song Of The Year" honors & his duet with Beyonce, "The Closer I Get To You" won the "Best R&B Performance By A Duo".
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was born on April 20th, 1951 on Manhattan's Lower East Side, to Luther & Mary Ida Vandross. He was given the middle name "Ronzoni", as that was all that his mother could eat, while pregnant with him. His family moved to the Bronx in his teen years, where he attended Taft High. The youngest of 4 children, he attended Western Michigan University & studied Electrical Engineering for a time, before deciding in 1970 to leave & pursue music as a career.
In 1967, Luther formed his first group, Shades Of Jade with Robin Clark, Anthony Hinton, G Dian Sumler, Fonzi Thornton & Carlos Alomar. In the future, Carlos would prove to play a pivotal role in Luther's career. They appeared several times on The Apollo's Amateur Night, where they never won 1st prize, but contrary to erroneous reports, were never booed off of the famous stage, once even winning a cash prize.
During that year, joined an aggregation, "Listen, My Brother" which was affiliated by the Schiffman's, owners of The Apollo & was helmed by Peter Long. "Listen, My Brother" also included a young Patrick Adams, who would find fame as a producer for Black Ivory, among others. Luther recorded his first record with "Listen, My Brother", titled, "Listen, My Brother, backed with Van McCoy's "Only Love Can Make A Better World".
In 1969, Luther made his first televised performance, singing the alphabet on Sesame Street as a member of "Listen, My Brother". He went on to write & sing jingles.
Another break came in 1973, when he met Delores Hall, who was appearing in the Broadway Play, "Godspell". She recorded a couple of Luther's songs & he made his 2nd appearance on a record, singing a duet with Delores on "Who's Gonna Make It Easier For Me", which Luther wrote for her LP. If you can find it on ebaY, the name of the LP is Delores Hall - "Hall-Mark".
He got his first big break when friend & guitarist, Carlos Alomar invited him to a session with David Bowie. When David heard Luther singing, he hired him on the spot, where Luther became a vocal arranger & singer. Unbeknownst to many, Luther was a co-writer of Bowie's smash "Fame".
Luther's first televised appearance was a Nov. 1974 appearance with David Bowie on Wide World Of Entertainment", on NBC. In 1975, Luther's career took another step further, when his song, "Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day), was featured in the Broadway Musical, "The Wiz".
Luther became a background singer for many of the giants of music: Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, Martha Reeves, Sister Sledge, Ringo Starr, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, Peabo Bryson, Donna Summer & Barbara Streisand.
It was during his stint with Roberta Flack, that he was poised to achieve fame in his own right, as Roberta told him that he needed to sing for himself as opposed to backing others.
From there, Luther sang background for Chic (Everybody Dance, among others), Bionic Boogie (Cream Always Rises To The Top), Roundtree (Got On Up, Get On Down) & finally, in 1981, he struck out on his own, with the classic "Never Too Much" LP, that he recorded with his own money. An LP, by the way that was rejected by several record companies. After the tremendous success of "Never Too Much", there was no looking back for Luther, as he finally became a huge star in his own right.
Luther was the winner of 8 Grammys & sold over 25 million albums in his illustrious career. Luther released 14 albums & every one of them attained Platinum status. Although Luther was a major R&B star, somehow mainstream Pop success eluded him until his 1990 classic "Here & Now", which found Luther in the Pop Top 10 for the first time in his career.
Luther was preceded in death by brother Charles, who passed in 1992 & sisters Patricia (1993) & Ann (1999).
Luther is survived by his mother, Mary Ida Vandross, 9 nieces, 8 great nephews & 3 great nieces, as well as a multitude of friends & fans the world over.
Public viewings will be held on Wednesday, July 6th & Thursday, July 7th at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, which is located at 1076 Madison Ave, near 81st St. The viewings will be held from 4 to 9 p.m.
Luther's funeral service will be held on Friday, July 8th, 12 p.m. at Riverside Church - 490 Riverside Drive in Harlem, N.Y.
A tribute LP is in the works, to be helmed by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. It will be an LP of artist singing covers of Luther's best songs. Scheduled to appear on this LP are artists such as Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey & others. At present, there has been no release date set.
July 22nd, 2005 - Eugene Record Dies
Eugene Record, of The Chi-Lites passed away on Friday July 22nd, 2005 at 2 A.M.
Eugene had been battling Cancer for some time & sadly, succumbed to it early this morning. As of yet, no funeral arrangements have been announced.
Eugene was a major figure in Chicago Soul Music history. He was responsible for many of the greatest Soul songs to come out of Chicago during the 1960s & '70s. Information will be posted, as it becomes available. Eugene Record was 64 years old.
I extend my condolences to his wife Jackie, his family, friends & fans & his group mates, The Chi-Lites.
Here is some information that I just received regarding services for Eugene...
www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-nws-xreco23.html
Tuesday, August 02, 2005 - Barry Glazer, former Temptone, dead at 57
Barry Glazer, one of the founder of the Temptones, passed away on Friday, July 29th from complications of a stroke. When Glazer helped assemble the Temptones, a white soul ensemble, in the mid-60's, they were viewed with suspicion whenever they appeared at black venues. By the time the first song was even half over, the audience would be cheering and throwing fists in the air.
Their lead singer, Daryk Hohl, could hit all the falsetto notes while Barry, Brian Utain and the guys provided the requisite background, and the group became an underground icon in North Philly and the emerging South Street corridor, where they all had rooms.
Eventually the group auditioned for the real Temptations in the bowels of the Uptown, and was signed for Arctic Records by owner Jimmy Bishop. Their resultant two platters, "Good-bye" and "Say these Words of Love," became soul anthems in this city and command big bucks by soul aficionados in the new millennium.
Otis Williams of the real Temps took the youngsters under his wing, even going so far as to purchase suits for them, and helped them secure a spot on the legendary Freedom Show, a soul extravaganza held in the old Convention Hall.
Later on Hohl took their guitarist, John Oates who had joined after his stint with the Masters on Crimson, changed his last name to Hall and emerged in the late 70's-early 80's as the superstar outfit, Hall & Oates.
Glazer left the entertainment field to open a photography studio/school just off South Street, later moving the business to City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. "He always liked to amuse people, " said Hagit Whittaker a long time friend, "and was a loveable guy, generous.....funny, whose sense of humor was always on."
This writer once stopped into Glazer's photo emporium on a busy Saturday near Christmas. I stood in line and when my turn came up I said, "I wanna talk to the ex-Temptone." The affable Glazer's eyes lit up, and he said, "You stand right over here. Don't move. We'll talk, don't worry." After the crowd ebbed, we chatted briefly, making plans for a sit-down for a future article.
Glazer leaves behind his wife of 34 years, the former marva Toll, and his mother Esther Glazer.
- Robert Bosco
Thursday, August 4th 2005 - LITTLE MILTON DIES
Earlier this morning, Blues great Little Milton died from complications of the two strokes that he suffered last week. Little Milton was 70 years old.
Little Milton was born as Milton Campbell in Inverness, Mississippi on September 7th, 1934. He modeled himself after Blues great T-Bone Walker & in his teen years, worked the southern Blues circuit. It was there that he met & performed with a young musician named Ike Turner, who took him to Sam Phillips' Sun Records.
Milton signed with Sun Records in 1953 & waxed his first three sides there. The records (released in 1954 & '55), Beggin' My Baby/Somebody Told Me, If You love Me/Alone And Blue & Looking For My Baby/Lonesome For My Baby, did little action on the charts. In 1957, Milton waxed two sides for the Meteor label. Again, the two sides that he recorded, "Love At First Sight"/"Let's Boogie Baby" & "Let My Baby Be"/"Oh My Little Baby" went nowhere. In 1958, Milton moved on to St. Louis' Bobbin label.
It was at Bobbin, where Little Milton began having success. Becoming an A&R man, he signed a young lady named Fontella Bass & future Blues great, Albert King. In 1961, he moved on to Checker Records & in January of 1962, his second release for the label, "So Mean To Me" rose to #14 on Billboard's R&B chart.
Little Milton remained with Checker until 1970, during which time, he placed 17 songs in the Billboard R&B charts. He enjoyed 4 Top 10 R&B hits, including his biggest hit, 1961's #1 "We're Gonna Make It", as well as one of his most memorable hits, the 1969 re-make of Little Willie John's, "All Around The World", re-titled "Grits Ain't Groceries". He had 10 more songs reach the R&B Top 40 during his stay at Checker.
Milton moved to Stax Records in 1971 & continued having chart success & remained with Stax until 1976, when he moved to Glades Records for a two year stay. After that, it appears as though Little Milton didn't release anymore singles until resurfacing on MCA in 1983. His final R&B charting was 1983's "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number", which peaked at # 89.
Little Milton moved on to Malaco Records in 1984, where he remained until 2002. In 1988, Little Milton was inducted into The Blues Hall Of Fame & won the W.C. Handy Blues Award, which is presented to the entertainer voted "Artist Of The Year". Another high point during this period, was his release of the Blues anthem, 1982's "The Blues Are Alright".
Earlier this year, he released his final CD "Think Of Me" for the Telarc label.
Little Milton is survived by his wife, Pat, one daughter & a son & his cousin, Soul great Laura Lee.
juicefreewithsoul.com sends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Little Milton
August 8, 2005
AFRO-CUBAN MUSIC LOSES TWO GIANTS:
We remember Cuban vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer and jazz bassist Al McKibbon.
*Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer, a staple of his country's traditional "son" music of the 1940s and 1950s and a performer on the "Buena Vista Social Club" album, died Saturday at the age of 78.
Read more: http://www.eurweb.com/story.cfm?id=21687
JOURNALISTS REMEMBERED: Peter Jennings And Akilah Amapindi
Peter Jennings, the erudite, Canadian-born broadcaster who read the news to Americans on ABC's World News Tonight, died Sunday. He was 67.
Read more: http://www.eurweb.com/story.cfm?id=21695
Jazz Bassist 'Keter' Betts Dies At 77
William Thomas "Keter" Betts, a giant on jazz bass who
accompanied Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and helped
present bossa nova to the American public, died August 6
at his home in Silver Spring, Md. He was 77.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
JOHN H. JOHNSON, FOUNDER OF EBONY MAGAZINE Dies at age 87.
Today, the African-American literary world mouns a giant. Today, John H. Johnson, the grandfather of Black magazines and founder of EBONY and JET magazines, died today at the age of 87.
"I'm devastated. He was my editorial hero and is largely responsible for my commitment to the Black Press," said DC Livers, managing editor for the Historical Black Press Foundation. "On more than one occasion I had the pleasure of speaking with him and he told me, 'I started seven publications and failed at four.
But, all anyone remembers is that I succeeded with three: Ebony, Jet and Ebony Man. As a publisher, you can never give up," he told me when I called him for advice. "You can never stop trying. You have to know in your heart that one day you will succeed because I believe in you.'"
Read More at: http://www.blacknews.com/pr/john101.html
August 12, 2005
BET NEWS SPECIAL PROFILES LIFE OF EBONY FOUNDER JOHN H. JOHNSON WTH SALUTE BY PROMINENT FIGURES ON AUGUST 15
"Citizen Johnson: A Man and His Empire" Features Former President Clinton, Colin Powell, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rapper Common and Others at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Washington, DC (BlackNews.com) - His business and social legacy have shaped the very fabric of the modern Black Experience. As America says good-bye to Ebony and Jet Magazine Founder John H. Johnson, BET News will spotlight the life and times of this historic media mogul and entrepreneur with "Citizen Johnson: A Man and His Empire" hosted by BET News anchor Jacque Reid on Monday, August 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Johnson died this week at the age of 87, and will be celebrated by some of the country's most prolific and diverse figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, BET Founder and Chairman Robert Johnson, National Council of Negro Women President Dr. Dorothy Height, activist Rev. Al Sharpton and poetic rapper Common. An encore showing is scheduled for Sunday, August 21 at 4 p.m. ET/PT.
PROGRAM: CITIZEN JOHNSON: A MAN AND HIS LEGACY
NETWORK: BET SCHEDULE:
Monday, August 15 @ 10 - 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (Premiere)
Sunday, August 21 @ 4 - 4:30 p.m. ET/PT (Encore)
From humble roots in Arkansas to the creation of Chicago-based media conglomerate Johnson Publishing Company, Johnson's impact on the lexicon of American business and Black culture is undeniable. BET News has assembled some of the biggest names in politics, business, media, academia and entertainment to reflect on Johnson's legacy and what the future may hold for his empire. Also included will be coverage of Johnson's August 15 funeral from the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago.
The following are excerpts from the many tributes featured in "Citizen Johnson: A Man and His Legacy":
"If anyone lived the American dream, if anybody ever proved he could overcome adversity, if anybody proved just by den of imagination and talent and hard work, you could still make it against all odds...it was John Johnson." -- Former President Bill Clinton
"He (Johnson) changed the whole landscape in terms of letting total America have a peek at the real scope of life in Black America." -- Dr. Joseph Lowery, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
ABOUT BET
BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the nation's leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 80 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean
August 12, 2005
Emery "Detroit Junior" Williams, Jr. 1930 - 2005
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Legendary and beloved blues pianist, vocalist and songwriter Emery "Detroit Junior" Williams, Jr., died at his Chicago home on August 9, 2005 of heart failure. He was 73. Over the course of his 50-plus year career, Detroit Junior led his own bands and appeared as a solo performer, in addition to playing in bands with Howlin' Wolf and Eddie Shaw. He wrote hundreds of songs, had numerous local successful 45s, as well as writing hits recorded by Albert King and Koko Taylor. He was a wildly entertaining performer in his own right as well, gigging constantly and recording on scores of other artists' albums as well as four full albums under his own name. Two of his songs have become blues standards: "Call My Job," which was a hit for Albert King, and the perennial favorite, "Money Tree." Koko Taylor has recorded three of his tunes: "Tired Of That," "Thanks, But No Thanks," and "Never Trust A Man." His rambunctious personality, raspy voice and untamed stage antics (including playing the piano standing up, on his knees and from underneath the piano) earned him many fans and friends around the world. Emery Williams, Jr. was already an experienced entertainer and piano player when he came to Chicago in 1956 from Detroit. He was originally from Haynes, Arkansas where he was born on October 26, 1931, and spent his childhood in southern Illinois. He had led his own band, the Blues Chaps, since he was 19, playing clubs in Pontiac and Flint, Michigan. For three years they were the house band at The Circle Club in Detroit, backing touring stars like Roscoe Gordon, Eddie Boyd, John Lee Hooker and Amos Milburn. Milburn was Junior's idol, and his humorous blues about the evils of alcohol inspired some of Junior's best songwriting. Blues musician Eddie Boyd first brought Junior to Chicago in the early 1950s, hoping to line up a contract for him with Chess Records. The Chess deal didn't work out at first, but Junior fell in with J.T Brown, the city's leading blues sax man. They landed a gig at Club 99, then at the legendary Squeeze Club. Junior quickly won a following with his percussive piano and energetic stage show. He paired up with harp man Little Mack Simmons, and they settled into a steady gig as house band at Cadillac Baby's South Side club. He recorded his first single, "Money Tree" backed with "So Unhappy" in 1960 for the Bea & Baby label. That record marked the first appearance of "Detroit Junior;" before that time he had been known as Little Junior Williams, and when the record became a local hit, the nickname stuck. Chess Records, sensing they had missed something, signed Junior, but subsequent singles didn't sell, and he cut for Foxy, CL and Palos before waxing his next hit, the original "Call My Job," on U.S.A., in 1965. The flipside, "The Way I Feel," a spontaneous and sensitive piano solo, proved that Junior had talent for deep blues as well as novelty tunes. During the '60s, Junior gigged with Mack Simmons, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and Johnny Twist. From 1968 on, he toured and recorded with the late Howlin' Wolf, playing everywhere from college auditoriums to Big Duke's Flamingo. When Wolf died in 1976, Junior stuck with the band, The Wolf Gang, under the leadership of sax man Eddie Shaw for a number of years. Detroit Junior's first full album under his own name, "Chicago Urban Blues" (on the Blues On Blues label) came out in the early 1970s. Alligator Records included four of his songs on the "Living Chicago Blues, Volume 6" anthology in 1980. The album helped establish him as a successful solo performing career. From 1995 through 2004, Detroit Junior released four CDs under his own name, three for Blue Suit Records: "Turn Up The Heat" (1995), "Take Out The Time" (1997), and "Live At The Toledo Museum Of Modern Art" (2004). His most recent CD was 2004's "Blues On The Internet" on Delmark. In the last few years, Junior often appeared on the Chicago's North Side at clubs like Kingston Mines, even after losing a leg to diabetes. He was filmed for Martin Scorsese's PBS series, "The Blues," and kept on writing and performing up until his death. Funeral will be held at 1:30pm on Thursday August 18 at A.R. Leake Funeral Home, 7838 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago, IL. Visitation will be on Wednesday, August 17 from 6:00pm until 10:00pm. Wake will be Thursday, August 18 at 1:00pm. Burial follows at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Alsip, IL. |
August 16, 2005
Eur News
JOHN H. JOHNSON REMEMBERED IN CHICAGO
Late publisher heralded as pioneer and philanthropist.
Read more
August 22, 2005
MOTOWN BAND LEADER TEDDY HARRIS DIES AT 70
Teddy Harris Jr.: Pianist, saxophonist, teacher
BY MARK STRYKER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
There was always an elegance about Teddy Harris Jr., from the fluid
caress of his piano and saxophone work, to the curlicue grace and bebop
lyricism of his arrangements, to the hip presence with which he led his
bands and mentored generation after generation of young jazz musicians.
Harris, who emerged from the shadows of Motown to become one of the
most important musicians on the Detroit jazz scene, took his cue from Duke
Ellington, his greatest idol.
"I liked everything about Ellington," Harris told Jazz Masters Journal
in 1993 upon receiving a prestigious Arts Midwest Jazz Master Award.
"The way he played the piano, the way he wrote his music, the way he set
a stage. Elegance. The first time I saw him I was about 7 years old. My
dad and mother took me to see him at the Paradise Theatre. I knew
exactly what I wanted to be after that."
Harris died Monday at John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit. He
was 70 and had prostate cancer, said his daughter Karla Hall.
It's difficult to wrap Harris' career into a tidy package because his
gifts were so varied and his contribution so sweeping. Harris was an
inspired instrumentalist, composer, arranger, bandleader, conductor, and
educator. He was a master of not one but two instruments, piano and
saxophone. And he was at home in both jazz and popular idioms.
The product of Detroit's bebop explosion in the 1950s, Harris led a
double life for years. He worked as a staff arranger and instrumentalist
for Motown -- company founder Berry Gordy Jr. was a childhood friend --
while becoming a stalwart on the city's jazz scene. But Harris' most
lasting contribution was probably as a teacher through workshop
initiatives and his New Breed Bebop Society Orchestra, a laboratory begun in
1983 in which newcomers honed their skills within the crucible of Harris'
musical vision.
"I see these kids coming home every day with their instruments and no
place to play them after they leave school," he once told the Free
Press.
At least two of Harris' students, pianist Geri Allen and saxophonist
James Carter, became international stars. "He put us right into a
professional situation and that helped us become polished as musicians and
polished as human beings and cultural warriors," Carter said Tuesday.
Theodore Edward Harris Jr. was born in Detroit on Aug. 27, 1934. His
first teacher was his father, jazz organist Theodore Harris Sr. He later
studied with Detroit bebop guru Barry Harris and attended the New
England Conservatory for a time before being drafted in 1956. After his
discharge he studied briefly with classical pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in
Paris before returning to Detroit.
At Motown, Harris worked with Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, the
Temptations and Smokey Robinson and spent 16 years as musical director for the
Supremes. He worked with blues musician Paul Butterfield and played with
Aretha Franklin, appearing on one of her Columbia LPs in the early
'60s.
Meanwhile, Harris matured as a jazz musician. He was best known as a
pianist but also played tenor sax early on, later turning to soprano
sax.. For years he was the house pianist and bandleader at Dummy George's,
prized for his suave accompaniment. He backed scores of visiting
greats, among them Lou Donaldson, Art Farmer, Joe Williams and Eddie
Jefferson. He also recorded with Yusef Lateef.
Harris led a variety of groups ranging from a quartet to big band and
even an orchestra with chorus, strings and woodwinds.
This year's Detroit International Jazz Festival on Labor Day weekend
will be dedicated to Harris, for whom music, as it was for Ellington, was
a mistress. "That's my life," Harris told the Free Press in 1993.
"That's all I ever wanted to be."
Survivors include his father; daughters Karla Hall, Tanya Hilton, Margo
Hall-Callender and Karolyn Evans-Jennings; two brothers, two sisters
and four grandchildren. Services will be held Monday at St. Paul AME
Church in Detroit; the time has yet to be determined.
September 20, 2005
Willie Hutch Dies At Age 60
Yesterday, Soul great Willie Hutch died in Dallas. Willie was 60 years old.
Willie Hutch was born Willie McKinley Hutchinson, on December 6th, 1944, in Los Angeles. He began his recording career in 1964 & some of his early songs are popular with the Northern Soul crowd. Many people were unaware, or have forgotten that Willie co-wrote The Jackson Five's 1970 hit, "I'll Be There". After the success of that song, he was hired by Berry Gordy to produce other Motown acts.
Willie's career blasted off with his 1973 Soundtrack from "The Mack".
That soundtrack was a classic, featuring the great songs, "Mothers Theme", "I Choose You" & the chart hits, "Slick" & the dynamic & still popular,"Brother's Gonna Work It Out".
Willie went on to do yet another soundtrack, 1974's "Foxy Brown". He continued to have mid sized hits throughout the '70s, though his last charting was 1982s "In & Out".
Other soundtracks that Willie contributed to were, 1985's "The Last Dragon ("Inside You"), 1991's "Perfume", 1995's "Now & Then" (I'll Be There") & 2002's, "Macking Ain't Easy", which was a documentary about the filming of "The Mack".
Earlier this year, Willie's "I Choose You" was included in the soundtrack, "Hustle & Flow". Willie was the uncle of Don Hutchinson, a member of the Rap group Above The Law.
No cause of death has been announced as of yet.
R.I.P. Willie Hutch.
My sincere condolences to his family, friends & many fans!
And yet another vestige of my youth is gone
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