Famous Grammy-winning songwriter Allee Willis who wrote Friends theme “I’ll Be There for You” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”, has passed away at the age of 72. The sad news was shared by her partner Prudence Fenton on social media.
Prudence shared a picture of Allee and wrote, “Rest In Boogie Wonderland Nov 10,1947-December 24, 2019. She was referring to the 1979 hit she co-wrote for Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Check out her post here.
The cause of death Tuesday was a cardiac event, her publicist, Ellyn Solis, told The New York Times.
Willis, who penned the famous, “I’ll Be There For You” theme for the long-running show “Friends” – was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. She was also nominated for an Emmy for the Friends theme song, ‘I’ll Be There for You’ performed by the Rembrandts. But sadly lost to the Star Trek: Voyager theme.
Allee Willis is known for her work and has written hundreds of other songs, including pieces for Ray Charles, Sister Sledge and Cyndi Lauper.
The talented artist never learned to play music. She attributes her love for music to visiting Motown studios every weekend while growing up. She won a Grammy in 1985 for the soundtrack for ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ and was nominated for another two decades later for ‘The Color Purple’ according to the Recording Academy’s website.
Willis grew up in Detroit and was raised on the sounds of Motown. Though she had been living in Los Angeles. There have been no reports where exactly did she pass away. The Associated Press could not immediately reach her publicist, Ellyn Soli.
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