Before “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” put her on the map, Allee Willis cut her songwriting teeth with “Ain’t No Man Worth It” in the early seventies. The song explores a rough time in her teenage years, after her mother died unexpectedly and her father moved quickly into a new relationship. True to Allee’s artistic style, the song’s got a lot of heart, as well as some darkness and pathos. But, more importantly, it changed the course of her life forever.
This is that story.
Allee was a young copywriter at a record company in New York City when she wrote “Ain’t No Man Worth It” and decided to present it and two other original songs to her boss. Impressed, he forwarded them to the president of Epic Records, without mentioning that Allee was the singer to avoid a conflict of interest. He loved them too and that’s how she scored a record deal!
That album, produced by the legendary Jerry Ragavoy, is Childstar. And with it, Allee quit her record company job to pursue a full-time career as a singer-songwriter. And, the rest, as they say, is herstory!
To promote Childstar, Allee and her backup group, The Angel Babies, sported “Ain’t No Man Worth It” tees, infusing humor into their publicity shots and appearances. These shirts, now in her signature light pink, have been recreated for the promotion of The World According to Allee Willis, a documentary celebrating her life and work.
Top photo: Allee Willis and her backup group The Angel Babies, featuring Michelle Cobb, Fonzi Thornton, Allee, and Ednah Holt (from left to right). Fun fact: Luther Vandross, Fonzi’s childhood best friend, played the piano during their audition. New York, 1974.
