‘Friends’ theme songwriter Allee Willis dies aged 72
- Willis, who penned ‘I’ll Be There for You’, was also behind the Earth, Wind and Fire hits ‘September’ and ‘Boogie Wonderland’
- She did not know how to play music but learned to write songs by listening to rhythms coming through the walls of Motown studios in Detroit, where she grew up
Allee Willis, who wrote the theme song for the hit television show Friends, has died at age 72, her partner Prudence Fenton announced Wednesday.
“Rest In Boogie Wonderland Nov 10, 1947–December 24, 2019,” Fenton wrote on her Instagram account in a post with a photo of Willis, referring to the 1979 hit she co-wrote for Earth, Wind and Fire.
Willis’ Instagram account also included a screenshot of an article about her death along with the caption: “We are extremely shocked and devastated to share this news.”
She died on Tuesday of a “cardiac event”, The New York Times reported, citing her publicist.
Willis, who penned “I’ll Be There for You” – the theme for the long-running show Friends – as well as several hits by Earth, Wind and Fire, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.