RIP, Joseph Brooks (May 22, 2011) Controversial Songwriter Of “You Light Up My Life”

Joseph Brooks
March 11, 1938 – May 22, 2011

Joseph Brooks was a filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer who is most commonly remembered for his 1977 hit single, “You Light Up My Life,” which was first recorded by Kasey Cisyk for his motion picture of the same name.  The song was quickly re-recorded by Debbie Boone and released on Curb Records.  The record quickly shot to #1, and to that point, held the top position for the most consecutive weeks in history.   It eventually became the most successful single of the ’70s and still stands as one of the decade’s most iconic ballads.  The recording for the film earned Brooks an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe, and has since been covered by Tom Jones, Lee Greenwood, Leann Rimes, and Whitney Houston, to name a few.  Brooks also wrote numerous award winning commercial jingles, composed music for The Lords Of Flatbush, and co-produced Eddie and the Cruisers.  In June of 2009, Brooks was indicted for allegedly luring unsuspecting women to his apartment in order to audition for movie roles.  He was awaiting trial on as many as 11 charges of rape, assault, and other sex crimes when, on May 22, 2011, his lifeless body was discovered by a friend in Brooks’ home.  His head was reportedly rapped in a plastic dry cleaning bag which was connect to a tube from a helium tank.  A suicide note was found nearby.  Joseph Brooks was 73 years old when he passed away.

Died On This Date (April 10, 1986) Linda Creed / Wrote Many Philly Soul Hits

Linda Creed (aka Linda Epstein)
December 6, 1949 – April 10, 1986

Linda Creed was a successful songwriter best known for several chart-topping hits closely associated with the Philly Sound of the 1970s.  Her break came in 1970 when Dusty Springfield recrorded her “Free Girl.”  Soon she was working alongside producer Thom Bell at Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records.    From that point on, Creed wrote or co-wrote a string of soul hits that included “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “You Are Everything,” “Stop Look Listen (To Your Heart)” and “The Rubber Band Man.”  Her songs were recoded by the likes of the Stylistics, the Spinners, and Phyllis Hyman.  Creed was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24 but still had the strength to co-write “The Greatest Love Of All” for the 1977 film, The Greatest.”  In 1986, the song was turned into a massive hit when re-recorded by Whitney Houston.  Linda Creed died of cancer on April 10, 1986.

Died On This Date (October 28, 2007) Porter Wagoner

Porter Wagoner
August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007

Photo by Ed Rode

Porter Wagoner was a three-time Grammy award winning country singer who was instantly recognizable thanks to his sparkly suits and towering blond coif.  Wagoner signed to RCA Records during the early ’50, and in 1955, he was hired on to perform on ABC Television’s Ozark Jubilee, broadcasting out of Springfield, MO.  Two years later, he moved to Nashville and became a member of the Grand Ol Opry.  Over the next five decades, Wagoner charted 81 singles.  Songs like “A Satisfied Mind,” “Green Grass of Home,” and “The Cold Hard Facts of Life” are some of the greatest recordings country music has ever known.  In 1960, Wagoner began starring in his own nationally syndicated television show, The Porter Wagoner Show.   The program ran for twenty years and helped launch the careers of Norma Jean, Mel Tillis, and most famously, Dolly Parton.  It was Wagoner who Parton was writing about when she penned “I Will Always Love You,” which became a massive hit for Whitney Houston almost 20 years after it was first released by Parton.  Wagoner continued to work well into the 21st century, recording and making guest appearances on television.  In 2007 he released the Marty Stuart-produced Wagonmaster, the critically acclaimed album that helped him experience a renassaince much in the same way Johnny Cash had in the mid ’90s.  That same year, Wagoner opened for the White Stripes at Madison Square Garden.   Porter Wagoner died of lung cancer at the age of 80.

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