Dwight Twilley, a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, died on Wednesday at the age of 72. On the same day, The Church Studio shared the tragic news on social media, stating that he had passed away quietly with his dear buddy Jan and other close friends by his side.
They acknowledged that Dwight’s musical ability had a significant influence on many lives and left an enduring legacy in the hearts of many, while also expressing their deep sorrow and grief. The message conveyed appreciation for the enduring musical heritage he left behind.
His exact cause of death has not been made public. Dwight Twilley is most known for his compositions “I’m on Fire,” which became a surprise national hit in 1975 and peaked at number 16 on the charts with virtually little marketing, and for his collaborations with Phil Seymour, which included the song “Shark.”
Remembering Dwight Twilley
American pop/rock singer and composer Dwight Twilley rose to fame with his Top 20 hits, which included “I’m on Fire” in 1975 and “Girls” in 1984. His songs are frequently associated with the power pop genre.
He founded the Dwight Twilley Band with Phil Seymour, and the two of them played together until 1978 when Twilley decided to go solo. November 2014 saw the release of his last album, “Always,” under his own indie label, Big Oak Records.
USA’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the birthplace of Dwight Twilley. After graduating from Edison High School, he studied from 1971 to 1973 at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.
Dwight Twilley’s solo career
Once the Dwight Twilley Band broke up, Twilley pursued his musical career on his own. Pitcock continued to play lead guitar, and he brought in Susan Cowsill to provide harmony vocals. Though Seymour provided background vocals for the album’s most popular hit, “Darlin’,” the album “Twilley” for Shelter/Arista was recorded with this lineup in 1979.
Twilley’s co-produced second album, “Blueprint,” was turned down by Arista despite having an Arista release number due to the poor performance of the single “Somebody to Love” in 1979. Sadly, “Blueprint” was never released, and Twilley was therefore excluded from the music industry until the end of 1981, when his contract with Shelter expired.
Twilley then joined EMI America and put out “Scuba Divers” in 1982, which had both new and previously unreleased songs mixed with selections from the “Blueprint” album that had been turned down earlier. His second national breakthrough single, “Girls,” from his 1984 follow-up album “Jungle,” included Tom Petty on counterpoint vocals. T
his song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Little Bit of Love,” the follow-up single, peaked at #77. Twilley’s departure from EMI America, however, followed, which again hampered his momentum following the smash.
Distributed by Epic Records, Twilley released the album “Wild Dogs” for Private I Records, a label owned by indie radio promoter Joe Isgro, in 1986. Sadly, Isgro was involved in a scandal involving radio promotion in 1986, which caused Private I Records to fail. Then, the album was secretly issued by Epic’s CBS Associated label, where it was not very well regarded even though it had the last Twilley/Seymour song, “Shooting Stars.”
After “Wild Dogs,” Twilley was left without a record label and his lead guitarist, Bill Pitcock IV, had departed the band, putting him in a difficult predicament. Inspired by his long-distance relationship with his daughter Dionne, Twilley took up writing and wrote a parenting book called “Questions From Dad.”
He subsequently went to work on his second album, “The Luck,” which was scheduled for release in 1994. Nevertheless, Twilley struggled to get the album distributed because record label executives didn’t find the irony in the album’s title amusing.
