William McKinley Hutchison (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005), better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

record label during the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

Born in 1944 in Los Angeles, Hutch was raised in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, Texas. He joined the high school choral group, The Ambassadors, as a teenager. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1962, he shortened his surname when he started his music career in 1964 on the Soul City label with the song "Love Has Put Me Down". After his move to Los Angeles, his music came to the attention of the mentor for pop/soul quintet

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

, and Hutch was soon writing, producing, and arranging songs for the group. In 1969, he signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

and put out two albums before he was asked by

producer

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Moto ...

to write lyrics to " I'll Be There", a song he wrote for

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. The song was recorded by the group the morning after Hutch received the call. Motown CEO

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

signed Hutch to be a staff writer, arranger, producer, and musician shortly thereafter. Hutch later co-wrote songs that were recorded by the Jackson 5 and their front man

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

, and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

. In 1973, Hutch started recording albums for Motown, releasing the ''Fully Exposed'' album that year. That same year, Hutch recorded and produced the soundtrack to the

Blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

film, ''

The Mack ''The Mack'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by California native Michael Campus, starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. The film also stars Oscar-nominee Juanita Moore and Tony-nominated actor Dick Anthony Williams. Filmed in O ...

''. Hutch had several R&B hits during this period, including "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick". He also recorded the soundtrack for the 1974 film '' Foxy Brown''. He recorded at least six albums for Motown, peaking with 1975's single "Love Power", which reached number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He left Motown in 1977 for

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

's Whitfield Records. Hutch returned to Motown in 1982, where he scored the disco hit, " In and Out", that same year and also recorded a couple of songs – "The Glow" and "Inside You" – for the 1985 film '' The Last Dragon''. He had a club hit with the song "Keep on Jammin'" as well. Hutch left Motown again by the end of the decade and by 1994 had moved back to Dallas. He died in Dallas, Texas on September 19, 2005, aged 60. No cause was given when he died. He was the uncle of Cold 187um of the rap group Above the Law. His manager, Anthony Voyce, said of Hutch: "I've never met a more generous and caring person."

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

* ''In and Out'' (1983) * ''Try It You'll Like It (The Best of Willie Hutch)'' (2003)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutch, Willie 1944 births 2005 deaths African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers African-American record producers Record producers from Texas African-American songwriters American funk guitarists American funk singers American male guitarists American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul guitarists American soul singers Motown artists Musicians from Dallas Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Texas Record producers from California 20th-century American male singers 21st-century African-American people American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California