Singer-songwriter Dwight Twilley, known for power-pop hits such as “I’m on Fire” and “Girls,” has died. He was 72.
His wife Jan confirmed a statement from Tulsa’s Church Studio, where Twilley recorded several songs including ‘I’m on Fire’, which read: “He peacefully left this world surrounded by the love of his life, Jan, and close friends. The loss is immeasurable and our words cannot capture the depth of our grief. Dwight’s musical prowess touched countless lives and left an indelible mark on the hearts of many. We are deeply grateful for the enduring musical legacy he has left us all.
Twilley was born on 6 June 1951 in Tulsa, Okla., where he met Phil Seymour and formed the music group Oister in the late 1960s, recruiting part-time member Bill Pitcock IV on lead guitar.
Twilley and Seymour eventually ventured to Memphis, Tenn. to pursue professional recording. The duo ended up at Sun Studio, where Jerry Phillips, son of legendary studio founder Sam Phillips, introduced them to former Sun artist Ray Harris. The rockabilly musician introduced Twilley and Seymour to “the Sun sound,” which “roughed up their Beatles-obsessed style a bit and created a unique and endearing sound,” according to Twilley’s official website.
In 1974, Twilley and Seymour moved to L.A. and signed to Shelter Records, co-owned by Denny Cordell and Leon Russell. Cordell changed the group’s name from Oister to the Dwight Twilley Band, and the two soon recorded “I’m on Fire” at Church Studio in Tulsa. The Dwight Twilley Band’s debut single reached number 16 on the Billboard charts in 1975, while the group recorded their first album, tentatively titled “Fire”, with producer Robin Cable at London’s Trident Studio.
During an appearance on “American Bandstand”, the group were to perform what would have been their follow-up single “Shark (in the Dark)”, but Shelter Records rejected the single to avoid the Dwight Twilley Band being perceived as a cash-in novelty act following the success of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”.
In the midst of a legal battle between Russell and Cordell, the band’s completed album remained unreleased for nearly 18 months as Shelter Record switched distribution from MCA Records to ABC Records; their “B” album was never released at all.
The Dwight Twilley Band experienced distribution problems on several occasions, including for their follow-up single “You Were So Warm” and their debut album “Sincerely” (1976), which featured “I’m on Fire”. Around this time, Twilley and Seymour befriended Tom Petty and provided backing vocals on several tracks, with Petty returning the favour for the band’s second album, ‘Twilley Don’t Mind’, in 1977. Seymour left the band the following year to pursue a brief solo career until his death in 1993.
As a solo artist, Twilley released his eponymous album in 1979, followed by ‘Scuba Divers’ in 1982. In 1984, he released Jungle, which featured his second national hit, Girls, which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album “The Great Lost Twilley”, released in 1993, consisted of unreleased songs by Twilley and Seymour.
In 1996, two newly recorded songs appeared on the 21-song best of collection “XXI”. Twilley released both another rarities collection, “Between the Cracks, Vol. 1”, and his first new album in 13 years, “Tulsa”, in 1999. In 2001, Twilley released “The Luck”, an album he had completed in 1994, and his ninth studio album, “47 Moons”, was released in 2005.
His critically acclaimed song “Looking for the Magic” (1997) has been featured in films and TV series such as “Diary of a Teenage Girl”, “Backcountry”, “House of Cards” and “Mindhunter”.
