Allee Willis

Suzanne Del Fiorentino brings creativity, empathy, and keen attention to detail to her role as a volunteer videographer for the NAMM Oral History Program. Since 2016, she has recorded well over 1,200 interviews, adding her own personal flair to each by thoughtfully arranging backgrounds that reflect the subject’s personality—often brightening the frame and putting interviewees at ease. Her passion for animals also plays a surprising and effective role; asking about a pet dog or cat has a way of calming nerves before the camera rolls.

Brenda Russell had a series of hit R&B recordings in the 1970s, 80s and 90s including “Piano In The Dark” and “So Good, So Right.” The success of her recording career as a singer led to her songwriting career, which included penning the musical score for the Broadway version of The Color Purple with Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Brenda spoke of that unique experience and her friendship with Allee as well as being on Broadway for the musical’s premier. In more recent years she has returned to recording and has had such releases as Paris Rain (2000) and Between the Sun and the

Allee Willis wrote a number of successful songs that have become part of the fabric of pop music. Allee either wrote or co-wrote songs such as “September” by Earth Wind & Fire, the theme for the sitcom Friends entitled “I’ll Be there for You,” the Broadway musical The Color Purple, and "Neutron Dance" among many others. She has also been heavily involved with technology and in fact was creating interactive social media experiences on the Internet as early as 1991. As an artist and set designer, Allee has worked with many other performers over the years to create art in many fo