RIP To “Power Pop” Legend Dwight Twilley….
Very sad news for music fans…Singer/ Songwriter Dwight Twilley, who helped bring what was called the “Tulsa Sound” to a wider audience, has died at 72.
No cause or other details have been revealed.
As reported in Deadline.com:
“Twilley was best known for the Top 20 hit singles I’m on Fire (1975) and Girls (1984). He performed with the Dwight Twilley Band with Phil Seymour until 1978, when he went off as a solo act.”
That’s his Seymour on the left. Arguably Twilley’s greatest “power pop” hit of all was “I’m On Fire” – and here he is performing it live – with Susan Cowsill – of the family singing group The Cowsills, singing backup vocals!
Twilly’s Tom Petty Connection…
While he never really broke through to mainstream success, I have many of his albums and love them all – and he had many friends in the music business…
Here’s a video of Twilley performing one of his greatest power pop hits, “Looking For The Magic” with Phil Seymour on drums and yes, that’s Tom Petty playing guitar with him!
Twilley had great songs and energy.
Here’s a TV appearance with the Singer, leading to the music video for one of his later hits “Girls”:
One last song to share – here’s a TV performance of one of his most beautiful songs “That I Remember” – once again, with Tom Petty on guitar playing with him…
No cause of death was given, but we have lost an Artist who gave us terrific music…in fact, a new compilation of the best of “power pop” is called “Looking For The Magic” in honor of Twilley…
So, where did the phrase “power pop” come from?
Not “Where”…WHO!
Yep, Pete Townshend of The Who coined the phrase “power pop” in a 1967 interview! Here is what he said:
“Power pop is what we play… the kind of pop the Beach Boys played in the days of ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’.”
Here is an example of an early “power popping” Who – “The Kids Are Alright!”
Todd Rundgren also has some of the greatest “power pop” songs and he and his band Utopia released an album filled with them…click here for videos…
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RIP Dwight Twilley….
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Categories: 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Music, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
Sorry to hear this. While I was too young to be a fan “back in the day” the use of “Looking For the Magic” in the opening of the horror film “You’re Next” led me to enjoying some of his songs on a regular basis. Did not know the Tom Petty connection.
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And I didn’t know they used the song in “You’re Next” – or forgot it because I’ve seen the film! Thanks for sharing that
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So sad.
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Sorry to hear of the loss of someone whose music you enjoyed. Like other Brits who have commented I’m afraid I’d never heard of him either, and as he was around during my uni years – my peak time for music – I think I would have done if he’d made any mark over here.
I noticed some comments about spam. I’ve also had a reduction in it, until today went it went up again. From what I can see, though, there is absolutely no link between the numbers of spam comments and page views. Hope that helps.
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Thanks for that! Yes, he never hit big – in a way, kind of similar to how it has been tough for some great acts in the UK to make it here in the states…I was a big fan of Athlete and Elbow, and even Doves failed to make a dent here.
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That works both ways, I think. Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat and Tears are just two examples from over there, but the biggest from here has to be Status Quo. Massive here and across Europe and Australasia, but did next to nothing over there.
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I never knew of him
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I thought I knew most bands from the 1970s, but unfortunately I’ve never heard of Dwight Twilley.
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He never broke out big – one semi-hit but languished while so many others rose – there were apparently issues with his record label which kept his music out of sight!
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John, I have to confess I had never heard of Dwight, but you gave him a lovely tribute.
Best wishes, Pete.
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He never really broke out Pete, but he was beloved in the music community…bad record label issues kept him from getting his biggest hits out there to gain momentum….but he was terrific. thanks for the comment!
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One other thing Pete…my views on the blog have dropped 60% since WordPress cracked down on spam – I haven’t gotten a spam comment in a week! Makes me wonder how restrictive the company became and why it’s keeping my content from being seen…or maybe nobody cares!
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I have had no Spam notified since I posted about its absence. I was never sure if it counted into the views though, as my views have been fairly consistent up until now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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