Willie Hutch: Biography

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• Isaac Hayes
• Curtis Mayfield
• Marvin Gaye
• The Impressions
• Norman J. Whitfield
• Johnny Bristol
• Donny Hathaway

• Otis Redding

• Jaheim
• Charlie Wilson
• GLC
• Shawn Lee

• The 5th Dimension

• Ambassadors

• Michael Jackson
• Smokey Robinson
• Jerry Marcellino
• Gene Page

Birth Name:

Willie Hutchison

Born:

Jan 1, 1946 in Los Angeles, CA

Died:

Sep 19, 2005 in Duncanville, TX

Genres:

Classical Music, 70s Music, R&B and Soul Music, Classic R&B Music, Funk Music, Motown Music, Rock Music

Decades Active:

1960's|1970's|1980's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Low

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

A versatile figure during Motown's "golden years," Willie Hutch penned hits for other artists, as well as issuing albums on his own. Born Willie McKinley Hutchinson during 1946 in Los Angeles, CA, Hutch was raised in Dallas, TX, where he began signing as a teenager (as a member of an outfit called the Ambassadors). It was also during his teenaged years that Hutch began penning his own songs, and in 1964 issued a debut solo single, "Love Has Put Me Down." Soon after, his songwriting talents attracted the attention of the soon to be renowned '60s popsoul outfit the 5th Dimension, for whom Hutch penned several tracks, as well as earning a coproduction credit for the group's 1967 debut fulllength Up, Up and Away. In 1970, producer Hal Davis asked Hutch to help finish off a song he desperately needed completed for the Jackson 5, "I'll Be There." Hutch delivered; the band recorded Hutch's version the next day, as it eventually became one of the 5's biggest early hits, and led to Motown head honcho Berry Gordy hiring Hutch to act as a songwriter/producer for other Motown artists on a regular basis.

Hutch then produced albums for Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson during the early '70s, during which time Hutch penned the soundtrack to the 1973 blaxploitation flick The Mack on his own. The soundtrack is often considered to be one of the era's finest, as it spawned such funksoul classics as the title track, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out," and "Slick." Hutch continued to issue solo releases for Motown, including such titles as Fully Exposed (1973), Foxy Brown, (1975), The Mark of the Beast (1975), Concert in Blues (1976), and Color Her Sunshine (1976), among others. After briefly relocating to the Whitfield record company for a few releases, Hutch returned back to Motown, where he issued further solo albums and worked with others, including a duet between the Four Tops and Aretha Franklin (1983's "What Have We Got to Lose"), Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "Hello Detroit" (1984), and a soundtrack album for the 1985 movie The Last Dragon. Hutch sporadically issued further solo sets in the '90s (1994's From the Heart and 1996's The Mack Is Back), before returning six years later with 2002's Sexalicious. He passed away on September 19, 2005, at his home outside Dallas, TX.

- Greg Prato, All Music Guide