LOS ANGELES, CA (Allee Willis) -- Los Angeles-based GRAMMY-winning and Tony and Emmy-nominated composer and multi-media artist Allee Willis currently has a pair of her biggest hit songs featured in two top-grossing movies and on their related soundtracks. With new versions of "
Boogie Wonderland" and "
September" -- both originally penned for the legendary group
Earth, Wind & Fire and major Billboard chart hits in 1979 -- Willis' music becomes even more deeply woven into our pop culture tapestry.
Warner Bros.' just-released animated feature Happy Feet -- which beat Borat and bested Bond its opening weekend to claim the #1 box office spot its opening weekend -- boasts a jubilant new version of "Boogie Wonderland" with Brittany Murphy singing the lead vocal first made famous by Earth Wind & Fire with The Emotions. Onscreen, the song is spotlighted in a major set piece in which legions of dancing penguins -- led by Murphy's female lead Gloria, love interest to the Elijah Wood-voiced male lead Mumble -- move to its groove. The original '79 recording scored #6 on Billboard's Pop singles chart and #2 on the Black singles chart, won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Instrumental Performance and was nominated for Best Disco Song.
"September" is featured in the acclaimed dramatic thriller Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The track is worked into what Amazon.com's review calls "Shinichi Osawa's sly Earth, Wind & Fire/Fatboy Slim mashup," together with Slim's "The Joker." When first released in 1979, Earth, Wind & Fire's original version of the now-classic song hit #1 on Billboard's Black singles chart and went #8 Pop.
Earlier this year, Ms. Willis was Tony-nominated for the music & lyrics for the Oprah Winfrey-produced Broadway smash The Color Purple, which she co-wrote with Brenda Russell and Stephen Bray (the musical was honored with "Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical" for LaChanze's star turn as Celie). The perennially sold-out show just celebrated the one year anniversary of its Broadway debut (Nov. 1) and is set to launch its national tour at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in April 2007. On Thanksgiving, the cast will perform the soulful and joyous opening number, "Mysterious Ways," for the 80th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Willis/Russell/Bray-composed song is scheduled for the first hour of the telecast, airing nationally on NBC-TV on Thurs., Nov. 23, 9AM-12Noon.
Allee Willis is currently developing various music, film, literary and multi-media projects and events from the studio in her architecturally historic William Kesling-designed Streamline Moderne home. Now often called "Willis Wonderland," it was originally built as the official party house for nearby Warner Bros., perfectly in keeping with Willis' own reputation for throwing parties as unforgettable as her music.
For more information, visit https://www.alleewillis.com
