John David “Moon” Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was given the nickname “Moon” because many of his songs had the word moon in the lyrics.
Born in Altus, Oklahoma in 1945, Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. Originally a rockabilly artist, he wrote the songs “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)”, made famous by the English singer Robert Palmer, and “Cadillac Walk”, made famous by the American singer Willy DeVille.
Martin scored two minor hits of his own with “Rolene” (#30 Billboard Hot 100 and RPM Magazine Top 100) and “No Chance” (#50), both in 1979. His 1982 song, “X-Ray Vision” was an MTV hit music video.
Alta Sherral Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019), known as Allee Willis, was an American songwriter, artist and art director. Willis co-wrote hit songs including “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind & Fire. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for “I’ll Be There For You”, which was used as the theme song for the sitcom Friends, and won two Grammy Awards for Beverly Hills Cop and The Color Purple, the latter of which was also nominated for a Tony Award. Her compositions sold over 60 million records and she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. As a multimedia artist, she was one half of Bubbles & Cheesecake.
Willis also wrote songs for artists including Debby Boone, Rita Coolidge, Crystal Gayle, Sister Sledge, Jennifer Holliday, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Cyndi Lauper, Crystal Waters, and Taylor Dayne. Songs she co-composed for other artists that became hits include “Lead Me On” by Maxine Nightingale, “Neutron Dance” by the Pointer Sisters, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” by Pet Shop Boys featuring Dusty Springfield, and “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts. “I’ll Be There for You” was used as the theme song of the sitcom Friends and went on to become one of the biggest television theme songs of all time. Willis jokingly referred to this song as “the whitest song I ever wrote”. In 1995 Willis was Emmy-nominated for “I’ll Be There for You”.
Willis died in Los Angeles on December 24, 2019, at the age of 72. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Friends theme song
Earth, Wind & Fire – September (Official Music Video)