Alta Sherral "Allee" Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019) was an American songwriter and art director.
Willis co-wrote hit songs including "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
[4] She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a journalism major, was a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority[6] and later became an activist, "marching and demonstrating" during the 60s.
[5] After college, she moved to New York City in 1969 and worked as a secretary at Columbia Records as a copywriter, writing liner notes and advertising material,[1] before turning to songwriting and performing.
After moving to Los Angeles, Willis worked as a songwriter at A&M Records from 1977,[7] and also wrote songs with, and for, Patti LaBelle and Herbie Hancock.
[9] Songs she co-composed for other artists that became hits include "Lead Me On" by Maxine Nightingale, "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer Sisters, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
[13] In 1997, she addressed a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, to make the case for the property rights of BMI songwriters.
She gave a keynote address at the first Digital World conference in 1992 and lectured on interactive journalism and on self-expression in cyberspace.
[16] As an artist, she created paintings, ceramics and sculptures, and from 2009 she curated the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch website.
[7] In 2015, Willis appeared as a kitsch expert on episodes of the A&E reality television show Storage Wars assisting Mary Padian.