Willy Deville

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Biography

Willy DeVille (August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an United States|American singer and songwriter . During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary music, including Jack Nitzsche , Doc Pomus , Dr. John , Mark Knopfler , Allen Toussaint , and Eddie Bo . Latin American music|Latin rhythms , blues riffs, doo-wop , Cajun music , strains of French cabaret , and echoes of early-1960s uptown Soul music|soul can be heard in DeVille's work.

Mink DeVille was a house band at CBGB , the historic New York City nightclub where punk rock was born in the mid-1970s. DeVille helped redefine the Brill Building#The "Brill Building Sound"|Brill Building sound . In 1987 his song "Storybook Love" was nominated for an Academy Award . After his move to New Orleans in 1988, he helped spark the roots revival of classic New Orleans Rhythm and blues|R& B . His soulful lyrics and explorations in Latin rhythms and sounds helped define a new musical style sometimes called "Spanish-Americana".For example, the term "Spanish-Americana appears on DeVille's (Retrieved 01-24-2008)

DeVille died of pancreatic cancer in the late hours of August 6, 2009 in a New York hospital. He was 58 years old.Fusilli, Jim (August 7, 2009) Wall Street Journal . (Retrieved 8-11-09)Editors (August 10, 2009) BBC News . (Retrieved 8-11-09.)Grimes, William (August 10, 2009) The Miami Herald . (Retrieved 8-12-09)

Early life

Willy DeVille was born William Paul Borsey Jr. in Stamford, Connecticut . The son of a carpenter,Editors (September 9, 2009) The Daily Telegraph . (Retrieved 09-09-2009) he grew up in the working-class Belltown district of Stamford. His maternal grandmother was a Pequot ,Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006). Willy DeVille , Dirty Linen| Dirty Linen #125, p. 37 and he was also of Basque people|Basque and Irish people|Irish descent. As he put it, "A little of this and a little of that; a real street dog."Marcus, Richard (2006) (Retrieved 01-29-2008) DeVille said about Stamford, ''"It was Post-industrial society|post-industrial . Everybody worked in factories, you know. Not me. I wouldn't have that. People from Stamford don't get too far. That's a place where you die." Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006) Willy DeVille . Dirty Linen|Dirty Linen #125, p. 37 DeVille said about his youthful musical tastes, "I still remember listening to groups like the Drifters . It was like magic, there was drama, and it would hypnotise me."

DeVille quit high school See Rhodes, Dusty (1978) , (Retrieved 01-29-2008) DeVille said, "I was always considered an asshole... I never fit in at school... I was always looked upon as the weird." and began frequenting New York City|New York 's Lower East Side, Manhattan|Lower East Side and West Village, Manhattan|West Village . "It seemed like I just hung out and hung out. I always wanted to play music but nobody really had it together then. They had Psychedelic rock|psychedelic bands but that wasn't my thing."Rhodes, Dusty (1978) (Retrieved 01-29-2008) In this period, DeVille's interests ran to blues guitarists Muddy Waters , John Lee Hooker ,DeVille said "I heard John Lee Hooker when I was twelve years old. When I heard that voice, I said, 'Man I gotta sound like that.' So I was 12 years old, with my face full of freckles... I went around saying 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...' trying to sound like John Lee Hooker. I'm very happy that he has finally got the commercial success, because he has influenced so many people...", Editors (1994) Canal magazine. (Retrieved 03-09-2008) and especially John P. Hammond|John Hammond .Marcus, Richard (2006) (Retrieved 1-29-08)
Harris, Craig (2006) Allmusic . (Retrieved 1-29-08) "I think I owe a lot about my look, my image on stage, and my vocal riffs to John Hammond. A lot of my musical stance is from John," Deville said.Billy Pinnell interview with DeVille on Australian radio on the 1994 Raven Records|Raven CD reissue of Miracle (Willy DeVille album)|Miracle He credited Hammond's 1965 album So Many Roads with "changing my life."

As a teenager, DeVille played with friends from Stamford in a blues band called Billy & the Kids, and later in another band called The Immaculate Conception. See Blue Love Monkey on MySpace, , which describes singer-songwriter Rick Nafey's collaborations with DeVille in Billy & the Kids ("a blues-rock group in the Rolling Stones - The Kinks|Kinks vein"), The Immaculate Conception ("a wildly eclectic collection of original material with influences ranging from The Holy Modal Rounders to George Jones and Tammy Wynette "), and the Royal Pythons ("performing original material as well as folk, country and blues numbers"). (Retrieved 10-9-09.) At age 17, he married Susan Berle, also known as Toots, and they had a son named Sean in 1970.Ryan, Tom (2003) "Shaddup and Listen" on American Hit Radio. (48:32). "How long have you been married now? " "Since I was seventeen." "Is this the same wife? " "No, this is my third." (Retrieved 10-9-09.) DeVille struck out in 1971 for London in search of like-minded musicians ("obvious American with my Pompadour (hairstyle)|Pompadour hair "), but was unsuccessful finding them; he returned to New York City after a two-year absence.

His next band, The Royal Pythons ("a gang that turned into a musical group"FaceCulture Interview (June 7, 2006) (Retrieved 04-06-2008)), was not a success either. Said DeVille: "I decided to go to San Francisco, California|San Francisco ; there was nothing really happening in New York. Flower power was dead. All the Blacklight paint|day-glo paint was peeling off the walls. People were shooting Amphetamine|speed . I mean, it was real Night of the Living Dead . So I bought a truck and headed out west. I traveled all around the country for a couple of years, looking for musicians who had heart, instead of playing 20-minute guitar solos, which is pure ego."Rhodes, Dusti (1978) (Retrieved 01-29-2008)

The Mink DeVille years

By 1974 Willy DeVille (under the name Billy Borsay) was singing in a band with drummer Thomas R. "Manfred" Allen, Jr., bassist Rubén Sigüenza, guitarist Robert McKenzie (a.k.a. Fast Floyd), and Ritch Colbert on keyboards.Klein, Howard (October, 1977) "Mink De Ville: Slick Fur Fury". Creem . Vol. 9 No. 5; p. 28. The band called themselves Billy de Sade and the Marquis, but changed the name to Mink DeVille the year after; at the same time lead singer Borsay adapted the name Willy DeVille. The same year, DeVille persuaded the band members to try their luck in New York City after spotting an ad in The Village Voice inviting bands to audition. Guitarist Fast Floyd and keyboard player Ritch Colbert stayed behind in San Francisco, and after arriving in New York, they hired guitarist Louis X. Erlanger , whose blues sensibilities helped shape the band's sound.Marcus, Richard (2006) (Retrieved 1-29-08)

During three years, from 1975 to 1977, Mink DeVille was one of the original house band s at CBGB , the New York nightclub where punk rock music was born in the mid 1970s. Their sound from this period is witnessed by ''Live at CBGB's , a 1976 compilation album of bands that played CBGB and for which the band contributed three songs.

In December 1976, Ben Edmonds, an A& R man for Capitol Records signed the band to a contract with Capitol Records after spotting them at CBGB. Edmonds paired Mink DeVille with producer Jack Nitzsche who had apprenticed under Phil Spector and helped shape the Wall of Sound production technique. Assisted by saxophonist Steve Douglas (saxophonist)|Steve Douglas and a cappella singers the Immortals they recorded the band's debut album Cabretta (simply called Mink DeVille in the U.S.) in January 1976. Cabretta , a multifaceted album of Soul music|soul , Rhythm and blues|R& B , Rock and roll|rock , and blues recordings, was selected number 57 in the Village Voice s 1977 Pazz & Jop critics poll.Christgau, Robert (1977) (Retrieved 02-01-2008) Its lead single "Spanish Stroll" reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart , the only Willy DeVille recording to ever hit the charts in the United Kingdom.

The band's follow-up album, Return to Magenta (1978), continued in the same vein as Cabretta , except that Willy DeVille and producers Nitzsche and Steve Douglas employed string arrangements on several songs. On this album Dr. John played keyboards and, once again, Douglas played saxophone . To promote the album, Mink DeVille toured the United States in 1978 with Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe . Return to Magenta reached number 126 on the Billboard 200 , making it Willy DeVille's highest charting album ever in his home country.

In 1979, Willy DeVille took his band in a new direction and recorded an album in Paris called Le Chat Bleu . For the album, DeVille wrote several songs with Doc Pomus who had previously seen the band play in New York.Halberstadt, Alex (2007) Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus . New York: De Capo Press; p. 213 DeVille hired Jean Claude Petit to supervise String section|string arrangements , and he dismissed the members of the band except for guitarist Louis X. Erlanger in favor of new musicians: Accordion ist Kenny Margolis, Jerry Scheff (bass), Ron Tutt (drums) and, once again, Steve Douglas (saxophone), who also served as producer. Capitol Records was not happy with Le Chat Bleu , believing that American audiences were incapable of listening to songs with accordions and lavish string arrangements; consequently they initially released the album only in Europe, in 1980. However, the album sold impressively in America as an import and Capitol finally released it in the United States later the same year.Loder, Kurt (December 11, 1980) "Willy DeVille's best: Le Chat Bleu ." Rolling Stone ; no. 332, p 55-56. Ironically, Rolling Stone yearly critic’s poll ranked Le Chat Bleu the fifth best album of 1980, Rolling Stone magazine. Rolling Stone End off Year Critics & Readers Polls. (Retrieved 3-14-08.) and music historian Glenn A. Baker declared it the tenth best rock album of all time.Baker, Glenn A. (1987) The World Critics Lists ~ 1987. (Retrieved 3-14-08.)

By this time no members of the original Mink DeVille save Willy DeVille remained in the band, but DeVille continued recording and touring under the name Mink DeVille.Palmer, Robert (September 25, 1981) "Pop Jazz; Willy DeVille and the Mink in Weekend at the Savoy", New York Times He then recorded two albums for Atlantic Records , 1981's Coup de Grâce (Mink DeVille album)|Coup de Grâce —on which Jack Nitzsche returned as producer—and 1983's Where Angels Fear to Tread (Mink DeVille album)|Where Angels Fear to Tread . Both sold well in Europe but fared less well in the United States. Coup de Grâce was DeVille's last album ever to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at number 161.

Mink DeVille's last album, '' Sportin' Life (Mink DeVille album)|Sportin' Life , was recorded for Polydor Records|Polydor in 1985. For this album, DeVille penned two more songs with Doc Pomus. The album was recorded at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section , and DeVille and Duncan Cameron producing. The album was a hit in some European countries, entering the top 20 in Switzerland and Sweden. In 1986, DeVille filed for bankruptcy as part of what Billboard (magazine)|Billboard called "a major restructuring of his career". He fired his personal manager, Michael Barnett, and announced that he would "put Mink DeVille to bed" and start a solo career. Consequently, Mink DeVille played its last concert on February 20, 1986 in New York City.Wilner, Rich (March 1, 1986) "DeVille Files for Bankruptcy." Billboard (magazine)|Billboard ; Vol. 98, No. 9. Page 77.

"Storybook Love" collaboration with Mark Knopfler

Although Willy DeVille had been recording and touring for ten years under the name Mink DeVille , no members of his original band had recorded or toured with him since 1980's Le Chat Bleu . Beginning in 1987 with the album Miracle (Willy DeVille album)|Miracle , DeVille began recording and touring under his own name. He told an interviewer, "Ten years with the band was enough for Mink DeVille; everyone was calling me 'Mink.' I thought it was about time to get the name straight." See the Billy Pinnell interview with DeVille on Australian radio on the 1994 Raven Records|Raven CD reissue of Miracle (Willy DeVille album)|Miracle .

DeVille recorded Miracle in London with Mark Knopfler , the Dire Straits guitarist, serving as his sideman and producer. He said, "It was Mark (Knopfler’s) wife Lourdes who came up with the idea (to record Miracle ). She said to him that you don't sing like Willy and he doesn't play guitar like you, but you really like his stuff so why don't you do an album together? "Marcus, Richard (2006) (Retrieved 03-06-2008.) "Storybook Love", a song from Miracle and the Theme music|theme song of the movie The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride , was nominated for an Academy Award in 1987; DeVille performed the song at that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song#1980s|Academy Awards telecast .

Knopfler heard ("Storybook Love") and asked if I knew about this movie he was doing. It was a Rob Reiner film about a princess and a prince. The song was about the same subject matter as the film, so we submitted it to Reiner and he loved it. About six or seven months later, I was half asleep when the phone rang. It was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|Academy of Arts and Sciences with the whole spiel. I hung up on them& #33; They called back and Lisa (his wife) answered the phone. She came in to tell me that I was nominated for "Storybook Love." It's pretty wild. It's not the Grammy Award|Grammys — it's the Academy Awards, which is different for a musician. Before I knew it, I was performing on the awards show with Little Richard . It was the year of Dirty Dancing , and they won.Rene, Sheila (1996) , Willy DeVille Fan Page (Retrieved 01-30-2008)

In New Orleans

In 1988, DeVille relocated from New York City|New York to New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans , where he found a spiritual home. "I was stunned", he said in a 1993 interview. "I had the feeling that I was going back home. It was very strange... I live in the French Quarter , two streets away from Bourbon Street ; at night, when I go to bed, I hear the boogie that comes from the streets, and in the morning, when I wake up, I hear the blues ."Laura Rangel (1993) , (Retrieved 01-29-2008)

In 1990, DeVille made Victory Mixture , a tribute album of classic New Orleans soul music|soul and R& B which he recorded with some of the songs' original composers. The album was recorded without the use of overdubbing or sound editing with the goal of capturing the spirit of the original recordings.

I got all the original guys to come back in, like Earl King , Dr. John and Eddie Bo . Allen Toussaint played side piano. I brought in the rhythm section of The Meters on a couple of cuts. We call it the "little" record. It's funny, because I was just trying to get them money, the writers of the songs, 'cause they all got ripped off in the 1950s and 1960s. They were all fascinated, and Dr. John (who had played on DeVille's 1978 album Return to Magenta and who DeVille knew from his association with Doc Pomus ) convinced them that they wouldn't get ripped off by this northern white boy. That's when I crossed over to being a local here in New Orleans. We were all pleased with it. It's recorded the way it was originally done back then. It's live with no overdubs anywhere, no digital, no editing. We played the song several times and just picked the best take, the one that was the most natural. It's on Fnac/Orleans Records. I'm really proud of that one.

Victory Mixture was recorded for a small independent label, Orleans Records, which licensed it to Sky Ranch (Fnac Music) in France. "It sold over 100,000 units in Europe very quickly& mdash;our first Music recording sales certification|gold disc ," said Carlo Ditta, founder of Orleans Records and the producer of Victory Mixture .Sinclair, John (August 24–September 5, 1998) On the Road with John Sinclair. (Retrieved 03-06-2008)

In the summer of 1992, DeVille toured Europe with Dr John, Johnny Adams, Zachary Richard , and The Wild Magnolias as part of his "New Orleans Revue" tour. ''"The travel, buses, and planes and the accommodations had to be some of the worst I've ever experienced... but the shows themselves were great. At the end of each show we'd throw Mardi Gras rows out to the audience, you know strands of purple and gold beads, and they'd never seen anything like it and they loved it." Marcus, Richard (2006) , (Retrieved 03-06-2008)

Recording in L.A.

In 1992, DeVille recorded Backstreets of Desire , the first of four albums he would record in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles with producer John Philip Shenale .DeVille recorded these albums in Los Angeles with John Philip Shenale as producer: Backstreets of Desire (1992), Loup Garou (1995), Crow Jane Alley (2004), and Pistola (2008). ''"I say it every time I record in L.A. — that I'll never do it again, and I keep doing it... It's crazy. I just record and go to the hotel, and never go out, then back to the Recording studio|studio . I hate L.A. It's the worst. I think they eat their children there. I never saw any kids. It's a pity there aren't more studios in New Orleans ." Although DeVille complained about having to record in Los Angeles, recording in that city put him in touch with many talented Latino (demonym)|Latino musicians who helped shape his distinctive Spanish-Americana sound.

For Backstreets of Desire , he was joined by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos , Efrain Toro , Mariachi los Camperos , and Jimmy Zavala , as well as New Orleans musicians Dr. John and Zachary Richard and L.A. session musicians Jeff Baxter , Freebo , Jim Gilstrap , and Brian Ray . Allmusic said about the album:

Willy DeVille's Backstreets of Desire stands tall as his masterpiece as both a singer and a songwriter. DeVille's considerable reputation in Paris buoyed him up to make this disc... With guest spots by Dr. John, Zachary Richard, and David Hidalgo, DeVille creates a tapestry of Roots revival|roots rock and New Orleans, Louisiana|Crescent City second line, traces of 1950s doo-wop , and elegant sweeping vistas of Spanish Soul music|soul balladry, combined with lyrics full of busted-down heroes, hungry lovers, and wise men trying to get off the street. The sound of the album balances Louisiana Creole French|Creole soul and pure rock pyrotechnics. DeVille sounds like a man resurrected, digging as deep as the cavernous recesses of the human heart.Jurek, Thom (2007) http://allmusic.com/ Allmusic. (Retrieved 02-02-2008)

Backstreets of Desire included a novel mariachi version of the Jimi Hendrix standard “ Hey Joe ” that was a hit in Europe , rising to number one in Spain and France . See Rene, Sheila (1996) Willy DeVille fan page. (Retrieved 02-02-2008) DeVille said about "Hey Joe": "The song originally comes from the Texas-Mexico border area ... hey call it Texico. I tried, instead of doing something that sounded like Jimi Hendrix that would have been a cliché, I tried to take the song back to the way that it must originally have sounded, which would be with mariachis. It's classic, but it's classic with a little twist. A little different. I put a bit of pachuco Canal Street, New Orleans|Canal Street slang talking. I added a couple of verses of my own."Editors (1994) Canal magazine. (Retrieved 03-09-2008) Backstreets of Desire was released in the United States in 1994 on Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Record's Forward label.

Continued success in Europe

In 1984, DeVille married his second wife, Lisa Leggett,Trynka, Paul (2007) Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed. New York: Broadway Books. p. 346. A footnote in this book reveals wife Lisa's maiden name. who proved to be an astute business manager. On the strength of his success touring and selling albums in Europe, they bought a horse farm, Casa de Sueños , in Picayune, Mississippi and began living there as well as at their apartment and studio in the French Quarter of New Orleans . DeVille told an interviewer in 1996: "I finally got the plantation... I just bought this house and . It looks a little bit like Graceland ... I got into horses since my wife is into them. We're raising Spanish and Portuguese bullfighting horses. The Heredity|bloodline is 2000 years old. She's into Selective breeding|breeding , but I just love riding. I've also got five dogs, four cats and a partridge in a pear tree."

DeVille did not have a recording contract with an American Record label|label in the mid-1990s. His next two albums, Willy DeVille Live (1993) and Big Easy Fantasy (1995), were recorded for Fnac Music , a French label. Willy DeVille Live was a number one record in Spain .Eagle Rock Entertainment (2007) , Web site of Eagle Rock Entertainment. (Retrieved 03-08-2008.) Big Easy Fantasy presents live recordings of Mink DeVille#The Mink DeVille Band|Mink DeVille Band playing with New Orleans legends Eddie Bo and The Wild Magnolias and remixes from the Victory Mixture sessions.

DeVille said, "I was pissed off and I didn't have a record deal for a few years. At the time I didn't want one. I was getting very gun-shy about labels. I was performing in Europe and I was doing great without one. When you get to that stage in your mind, they all start coming around. It's pretty strange the way that happens".

In 1995, he returned to Los Angeles to record Loup Garou , again with producer John Philip Shenale . Musician (magazine)| Musician said about the album: " Loup Garou is subtle in nuance but staggering in scope, it connects the dots between all of the artist's sacrosanct influences, often within the framework of a single song... All of it is on the money, performed from the heart..."Editors (September 1996) "Review of Loup Garou", Musician magazine , p. 90 Loup Garou featured a duet with Brenda Lee ; DeVille said: "She didn't know who the hell I was. I just called her up, played the song for her, and she loved it. She had her business people check me out, and they reported that I was big in Europe and had been recording for twenty years. So I flew to Nashville ... That's got to go down in my book as one of the most memorable experiences in my career."

The cover of Loup Garou showed DeVille in turn of the 19th to 20th century New Orleans garb posing on a street corner in New Orleans' French Quarter . It included Louisiana Voodoo|voodoo chants and a song subtitled "Vampire's Lullaby". The singer had completely immersed himself in New Orleans culture. Percussionist Boris Kinberg, a longtime member of the Mink DeVille#”The Mink DeVille Band”|Mink DeVille Band , said about the stages of Willy DeVille's career:

To my mind there were three main eras. The first era was the Lower East Side , skinny tie, purple shirt, West Side Story (musical)|West Side Story , Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican Sharks gang vibe. Then it transmuted into the Mississippi plantation-gambler riverboat rogue, the Rhett Butler thing where he had had custom-made suits, and really got into the period and the clothes and just totally immersed himself in New Orleans, not the present New Orleans, but the New Orleans of the 1880s and 1890s—the Absinthe -drinking, voodoo New Orleans. He totally immersed himself in that. Then he left New Orleans and moved to the Southwestern United States|Southwest and came back as the second coming of Black Elk . See interviews on Live in the Lowlands (DVD) (2006; Eagle Rock).

Before moving to the Southwest in 2000, DeVille recorded Horse of a Different Color (Willy DeVille album)|Horse of a Different Color in Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis . The 1999 album, produced by Jim Dickinson , includes a Chain gang|chain-gang song, a Cover version|cover of Fred McDowell 's "Going over the Hill," and a cover of Andre Williams 's "Bacon Fat". Allmusic said about the album, "Simply put, no one has this range or depth in interpreting not only styles, but also the poetics of virtually any set of lyrics. DeVille makes everything he sings believable. 'Horse of a Different Color' is the most consistent and brilliant recording of Willy DeVille's long career."Jurek, Thom (2007) . (Retrieved 03-09-2008) Horse of a Different Color was the first Willy DeVille album since 1987's Miracle (Willy DeVille album)|Miracle to be released simultaneously in Europe and the United States. His previous five albums had been released first in Europe and picked up later, if they were picked up at all, by American record label s.

Epiphany in the Southwest

"I guess I was testing the waters to see if I would live through it", DeVille told another interviewer. "It was a foolish, foolish thing to do."Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006) “Willy DeVille”. Dirty Linen|Dirty Linen #125 p. 39 For the next five years, DeVille walked with a cane and performed sitting on a barstool, until he had hip replacement surgery in 2006.Cohen, op cit supra.

DeVille's stay in the Southwestern United States|Southwest awakened his interest in his Native Americans in the United States|Native American heritage. On the cover of his next album, 2002's Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin , recorded to celebrate his 25 years' of performing, DeVille wore long hair. He began wearing Native American clothing and jewelry on stage.

In 2004, DeVille returned to Los Angeles to record Crow Jane Alley , his third album with producer John Philip Shenale. The album continued his explorations of his Spanish-Americana sound and featured many prominent Los Angeles Latino musicians. On the cover, DeVille wore a Native American headdress and breastplate. Richard Marcus said of the album, "Crow Jane Alley is the work of an artist who after thirty plus years in the business still has the ability to surprise and delight his listeners. Listening to this disc only confirms that Willy DeVille is one of the greats who have been ignored for too long." Marcus, Richard (June 24, 2006) (Retrieved 03-25-2008)

Return to New York

After living for 15 years in New Orleans and the Southwest, DeVille returned to New York City in 2003,Grimes, William (August 10, 2009) The Miami Herald . (Retrieved 8-12-09.) where he took up residence with Nina Lagerwall, his third wife. He continued touring Europe, usually playing music festivals in the summer.

On Mardi Gras of 2008, Pistola , DeVille's sixteenth album, was released. Independent Music said about the album: "(Willy DeVille) has never been more artistically potent than on Pistola , confronting the demons of his past with an impressive lyrical honesty and unexpectedly diverse musical imagination."Gill, Andy (January 24, 2008) The Independent (Retrieved 02-04-2008)

Personal life

Willy DeVille was married in the late 1970s to Susan Berle (February 19, 1950& ndash;August 12, 2004), who was known as Toots DeVille .For more information about Toots, see Herwig, Jana (August 7, 2009) . Retrieved 8-17-2009. Toots and Willy had known each other in high school and had a son, Sean, in 1970. Alex Halberstadt, Doc Pomus 's biographer, wrote about Toots, "Half French and half Pima|Pima Indian , Toots favored a pair of Nose piercing|nose rings , snow-white kabuki make-up and a The Ronettes|Ronettes -style Beehive (hairstyle)|beehive the color of tar. She'd once put out a lit Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro in a woman's eye just for staring at Willy."Halberstadt, Alex (2007) Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus , New York: De Capo Press. p. 214. DeVille said about Toots in 1996, "I haven't seen her in over ten years. I ran off on her, I guess. She was fascinating, all right. She loved to fight and pull knives out. She used to get me into a lot of trouble." Willy DeVille Fan Page (Retrieved 01-30-2008))

In 1984, DeVille married his second wife, Lisa Leggett, whom he met in California. She became his business manager. They lived in New Orleans and on a horse farm in Picayune, Mississippi . After her suicide in 2001, he married Nina Lagerwall (daughter of Sture Lagerwall ), his third wife, and returned to New York City, where he spent the rest of his life. In February 2009, DeVille was diagnosed with Hepatitis C , and in May of that year doctors discovered pancreatic cancer in DeVille in the course of his Hepatitis C treatment., . (Retrieved 4-22-2009) He died in New York City in the late hours of August 6, 2009, three weeks shy of his 59th birthday.

Legacy

About his legacy, DeVille told an interviewer, ''"I have a theory. I know that I'll sell much more records when I'm dead. It isn't very pleasant, but I have to get used to this idea." Rangel, Laura (January 1991) . (Retrieved on 1-29-08)

Jack Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with.Edmonds, Ben (2001) Liner notes to Cadillac Walk: The Mink DeVille Collection . Edmonds wrote, "During my last conversation with Nitzsche, only months before his death last year, the irascible old witch doctor couldn't stop taking about the new album he'd been plotting with Willy, and how DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with."

Critic Robert Palmer (writer)|Robert Palmer wrote about him in 1980, ''"Mr. DeVille is a magnetic performer, but his macho stage presence camouflages an acute musical intelligence; his songs and arrangements are rich in ethnic rhythms and blues echoes, the most disparate stylistic references, yet they flow seamlessly and hang together solidly. He embodies (New York's) tangle of cultural contradictions while making music that's both idiomatic, in the broadest sense, and utterly original." Palmer, Robert (September 18, 1980) "Pop: Willy DeVille Band", New York Times ; p. C32

Critic Thom Juric about him, ''"His catalog is more diverse than virtually any other modern performer. The genre span of the songs he's written is staggering. From early rock and rhythm and blues styles, to Delta-styled blues, from Cajun music to New Orleans second line, from Latin-tinged folk to punky salseros, to elegant orchestral ballads& mdash;few people could write a love song like DeVille. He was the embodiment of rock and roll's romance, its theater, its style, its drama, camp, and danger." Jurek, Thom (August 10, 2009) . (Retrieved 8-14-09)

His sometime collaborator Mark Knopfler said of DeVille, "Willy had an enormous range. The songs he wrote were original, romantic and straight from the heart."Quote originally published at Leap In The Dark: as part of this much longer statement issued by Knopfler at Richard Marcus' request: ''"I've been an admirer of Willy's since hearing his stunning voice on the radio for the first time. He has an enormous range, with influences from all corners of the country, from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and New Orleans music to Latin, folk-rock, doo-wop, Ben E. King style soul and R& B - all part of the New York mix. The songs he writes are original, often romantic and always straight from the heart. He can paint a character in a few words. When we worked on his Miracle album I enjoyed the occasional opportunity to offer a chord or two to go with his great lyrics."

Thom Jurek wrote about him after his death, ''"Willy DeVille is America's loss even if America doesn’t know it yet. The reason is simple: Like the very best rock and roll writers and performers in our history, he’s one of the very few who got it right; he understood what made a three-minute song great, and why it mattered& mdash;because it mattered to him. He lived and died with the audience in his shows, and he gave them something to remember when they left the theater, because he meant every single word of every song as he performed it. Europeans like that. In this jingoistic age of American pride, perhaps we can revisit our own true love of rock and roll by discovering Willy DeVille for the first time& mdash;or, at the very least, remember him for what he really was: an American original. The mythos and pathos in his songs, his voice, and his performances were born in these streets and cities and then given to the world who appreciated him much more than we did." Jurek, Thom (August 10, 2009) , . (Retrieved 08-14-2009)

Singer Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band said about him, "He had all the roots of music that I love and had this whole street thing of R& B & mdash; just the whole gestalt... He was just a tremendous talent; a true artist in the sense that he never compromised. He had a special vision and remained true to it."Editors (April 1, 2010) Speakeasy: Wall Street Journal blog. (Retrieved 4-10-2010.)

Writing in the Wall Street Journal about the posthumous release of DeVille's Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of Willy DeVille Live (2011), Marc Meyers declared, "There was creative heat and pain in Mr. DeVille's eerie, edgy look and sound. While his punk-roadhouse fusion sailed over the heads of many at home, his approach inspired many British pop invaders of the 1980s, including Tears for Fears , Human League and Culture Club ... He was a punk eclectic with a heart of golden oldies and Joe Cocker 's pipes. A seedy sophisticate, Mr. DeVille was decades ahead of his time."Meyers, Marc (May 20, 2011) . Wall Street Journal .

Discography

: For a complete discography of Willy DeVille recordings, see Willy DeVille discography .

With Mink DeVille :

1977: Cabretta (in Europe); Cabretta|Mink Deville (in the U.S.) ( Capitol Records|Capitol )

1978: Return to Magenta (Capitol)

1980: Le Chat Bleu (Capitol)

1981: Coup de Grâce (Mink DeVille album)|Coup de Grâce ( Atlantic Records|Atlantic )

1983: Where Angels Fear to Tread (Mink DeVille album)|Where Angels Fear to Tread (Atlantic)

1985: '' Sportin' Life (Mink DeVille album)|Sportin' Life ( Polydor Records|Polydor )

As Willy DeVille:

1987: Miracle (Willy DeVille album)|Miracle ( Polydor Records|Polydor )

1990: Victory Mixture (Sky Ranch) 1990 (Orleans Records)

1992: Backstreets of Desire (Fnac Music) ( Rhino Entertainment|Rhino , 1994)

1993: Willy DeVille Live (Fnac Music)

1995: Big Easy Fantasy (New Rose)

1995: Loup Garou ( East West Records|EastWest ) ( Discovery Records|Discovery , 1996)

1999: Horse of a Different Color (Willy DeVille album)|Horse of a Different Color (EastWest)

2002: Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin ( Eagle Records|Eagle )

2004: Crow Jane Alley (Eagle)

2008: Pistola (Eagle)

Copyright Citations

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1. Lydia Lunch 2. Jeff Porcaro 3. Johnny Thunders 4. John Hiatt 5. Jack Nitzsche 6. Alex Acuna 7. Chris Spedding 8. Kate Markowitz 9. Kate Yanai 10. Knopfler 11. Allen Toussaint 12. Eddie Bo

Undetermined Music Artists