Willie Hutch: Singer Songwriter Extraordinaire

Willie Hutch came into the limelight during Motown’s golden years.
A singer and songwriter he also produced several albums of other artistes, most notably Smokey Robinson, the Jackson 5 and The Fifth Dimension.

Born Willie McKinley Hutchinson on December 6, 1944, in Los Angeles, Hutch spent his childhood years in Dallas, Texas. He began singing while in his teens and was part of a group called the Ambassadors. He was already writing his own songs by then.

Willie Hutch made his debut into the professional music world in 1964 with the single Love Has Put Me Down.Hutch’s writing skills were noticed by the band Fifth Dimension and he was soon invited to work with the group. Hutch went on to write several tracks for them and co-produced their debut album, 1967’s Up Up And Away.

In 1970 producer Hal Davis sought Hutch’s help to complete a song for the Jackson 5. The resultant I’ll Be There was a success and gave the group one of their early hits. The hit also brought Hutch to the attention of Motown head, Berry Gordy. Impressed he hired Hutch as a songwriter and producer for the label. Hutch worked with several artistes on the label, going on to produce albums for Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson in the early seventies.

Around this time Hutch also wrote the soundtrack of two blaxploitation films, The Mack in 1973 and Foxy Brown in 1974. The Mack spawned funk-soul classics like Brother’s Gonna Work It Out and Slick, which appeared on the R&B Top Twenty lists.

While writing songs, Hutch was also busy recording as a solo artiste. Some of his releases on Motown were Fully Exposed (1973), The Mark of the Beast (1975), Concert in Blues (1976), and Color Her Sunshine (1976).

In the early seventies Hutch moved to Whitfield label, run by former Motown producer Norman Whitfield. However after a few releases he soon returned back to Motown.

Apart form his solo recordings Hutch also collaborated regularly with other artistes. He produced What Have We Got to Lose a duet between Aretha Franklin and the Four Tops in 1983 and Hello Detroit for Sammy Davis Jr in 1984. In 1985 Hutch wrote the soundtrack for The Last Dragon.

From the mid-eighties, Hutch’s releases became sporadic. Two notable albums were 1994’s From The Heart and 1996’s The Mack is Back.

In 1994 Hutch moved back to Dallas. By then the royalties from his previous releases were enough to keep him comfortable. However he chose to continue recording with Sexalicious being his last release in 2002.

Willie Hutch died on September 19, 2005 at the age of 60 years. The cause of his death was not disclosed. He is survived by his six children. Incidentally Cold 187um of the rap group Above the Law is Hutch’s nephew.

Willie Hutch will always be remembered as one of the most versatile artistes who came out of the Motown stable. In his four decades in the music industry he has been a singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. In short he was a complete musician and one who will not be forgotten any time soon.