Elliot Willensky (architectural Historian)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elliot A. Willensky (August 6, 1943 – March 29, 2010) was an American
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
,
lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...
and
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
. He wrote
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's first solo hit "
Got to Be There ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was rele ...
" and the
Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...
/
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
duet "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful." Willensky composed the music for the 1999
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
''Abby's Song'' and served as the music coordinator for the
Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn (also known simply as Dawn) is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits inclu ...
variety show on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
.


Biography

He was born in
Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...
on August 6, 1943, to Raymond Willensky and Gertrude Berlin. He attended
Bayonne High School Bayonne High School (BHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Bayonne, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operated by the Bayonne Board of Education. As of the ...
and graduated from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
with a degree in
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
. He undertook
post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
studies at Boston University and the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
and worked as a research scientist of the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
. Willensky left the scientific field to become a songwriter in 1969. Arguably Willensky's most well-known work is "Got to Be There," which was Michael Jackson's first solo hit and reached number 4 on the
R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
in 1971. The song reached number 5 on the R&B chart again in 1983 when it was covered by
Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...
. The song has also been covered by
The Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...
in 1972,
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
in 2007, and an instrumental version by jazz guitarist/singer
George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
in 1993. Willensky continued his affiliation with the Jackson family into the 1980s, writing the noted
Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...
and
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
duet, "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful," which appeared on Jermaine's 1986 '' Precious Moments'' album. He died from a stroke on March 29, 2010 in
Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...
. In 2021, a play entitled Elliot and Me, conceptualized by Elliot Willensky and his younger brother Steven Willensky, and finished after Elliot's death by Steven Willensky and Scott Coulter, debuted at the Hudson Theater Works in
Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...
.


References

1943 births 2010 deaths American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers American television composers Bayonne High School alumni Jewish American songwriters Musicians from Bayonne, New Jersey Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Songwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American Jews Burials at Baron Hirsch Cemetery {{US-songwriter-stub