Willy DeVille

Waters, John Lee Hooker,[12] and especially John Hammond.[13][14] I think I owe a lot about my look, my image on stage, and my vocal ris to John Hammond. A lot
of my musical stance is from John, Deville said.[15] He
credited Hammonds 1965 album So Many Roads with
changing my life.[13]

Willy DeVille (August 25, 1950 August 6, 2009) was

an American singer and songwriter. During his thirtyve-year career, rst with his band Mink DeVille (1974
1986) and later on his own, Deville created original songs
rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked
with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary music, including Jack Nitzsche, Doc Pomus, Dr.
John, Mark Knoper, Allen Toussaint, and Eddie Bo.
Latin rhythms, blues ris, doo-wop, Cajun music, strains
of French cabaret, and echoes of early-1960s uptown soul
can be heard in DeVilles work.

2 Career
As a teenager, DeVille played with friends from Stamford in a blues band called Billy & the Kids, and later in
another band called The Immaculate Conception.[16] At
age 17, he married Susan Berle, also known as Toots, and
they had a son named Sean in 1970.[17] DeVille struck out
in 1971 for London in search of like-minded musicians
(obvious American with my Pompadour hair"), but was
unsuccessful nding them; he returned to New York City
after a two-year absence.[13]

Mink DeVille was a house band at CBGB, the historic

New York City nightclub where punk rock was born in
the mid-1970s. DeVille helped redene the Brill Building sound. In 1987 his song Storybook Love was nominated for an Academy Award. After his move to New
Orleans in 1988, he helped spark the roots revival of classic New Orleans R&B. His soulful lyrics and explorations
in Latin rhythms and sounds helped dene a new musical
style sometimes called Spanish-Americana.[1]

His next band, The Royal Pythons (a gang that turned

into a musical group[18] ), was not a success either. Said
DeVille: I decided to go to San Francisco; there was
nothing really happening in New York. Flower power was
dead. All the day-glo paint was peeling o the walls. People were shooting speed. I mean, it was real Night of the
Living Dead. So I bought a truck and headed out west.
I traveled all around the country for a couple of years,
looking for musicians who had heart, instead of playing
20-minute guitar solos, which is pure ego.[19]

DeVille died of pancreatic cancer on August 6, 2009 in a

New York hospital. He was 58 years old.[2][3][4] Although
his commercial success waxed and waned over the years,
his legacy as a songwriter has inuenced many other musicians such as Mark Knoper and Peter Wolf.

Early life

Willy DeVille was born William Paul Borsey Jr. in

Stamford, Connecticut.[5] The son of a carpenter,[6] he
grew up in the working-class Belltown district of Stamford. His maternal grandmother was a Pequot,[7] and he
was also of Basque and Irish descent. As he put it, A little of this and a little of that; a real street dog.[8] DeVille
said about Stamford, It was post-industrial. Everybody
worked in factories, you know. Not me. I wouldn't have
that. People from Stamford don't get too far. Thats a
place where you die. [9] DeVille said about his youthful
musical tastes, I still remember listening to groups like
the Drifters. It was like magic, there was drama, and it
would hypnotise me.[6]

2.1 The Mink DeVille years

Main article: Mink DeVille
By 1974 Willy DeVille (under the name Billy Borsay)
was singing in a band with drummer Thomas R. Manfred Allen, Jr., bassist Rubn Sigenza, guitarist Robert
McKenzie (a.k.a. Fast Floyd), and Ritch Colbert on
keyboards.[20] The band called themselves Billy de Sade
and the Marquis, but changed the name to Mink DeVille the year after; at the same time lead singer Borsay
adapted the name Willy DeVille. The same year, DeVille persuaded the band members to try their luck in New
York City after spotting an ad in The Village Voice inviting bands to audition. Guitarist Fast Floyd and keyboard
player Ritch Colbert stayed behind in San Francisco, and
after arriving in New York, the band hired guitarist Louis
X. Erlanger, whose blues sensibilities helped shape the

DeVille quit high school[10] and began frequenting New

York's Lower East Side and West Village. It seemed
like I just hung out and hung out. I always wanted to play
music but nobody really had it together then. They had
psychedelic bands but that wasn't my thing.[11] In this
period, DeVilles interests ran to blues guitarists Muddy
1

2
Mink DeVilles sound.[21]
During three years, from 1975 to 1977, Mink DeVille
was one of the original house bands at CBGB, the New
York nightclub where punk rock music was born in the
mid-1970s.[21] Their sound from this period is witnessed
by Live at CBGBs, a 1976 compilation album of bands
that played CBGB and for which the band contributed
three songs.

CAREER

of the band except for guitarist Louis X. Erlanger in favor

of new musicians: Accordionist Kenny Margolis, Jerry
Sche (bass), Ron Tutt (drums) and, once again, Steve
Douglas (saxophone), who also served as producer. Capitol Records was not happy with Le Chat Bleu, believing that American audiences were incapable of listening
to songs with accordions and lavish string arrangements;
consequently they initially released the album only in Europe, in 1980. However, the album sold impressively in
America as an import and Capitol nally released it in the
United States later the same year.[27] Ironically, Rolling
Stone yearly critics poll ranked Le Chat Bleu the fth best
album of 1980,[28] and music historian Glenn A. Baker
declared it the tenth best rock album of all time.[29]
By this time no members of the original Mink DeVille
save Willy DeVille remained in the band, but DeVille
continued recording and touring under the name Mink
DeVille.[30] He then recorded two albums for Atlantic
Records, 1981s Coup de Grceon which Jack Nitzsche
returned as producerand 1983s Where Angels Fear to
Tread. Both sold well in Europe but fared less well in the
United States. Coup de Grce was DeVilles last album
ever to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at number 161.

Louis X. Erlanger (left) and Willy DeVille of Mink DeVille in

1977.

Mink DeVilles last album, Sportin' Life, was recorded

for Polydor in 1985. For this album, DeVille penned two
more songs with Doc Pomus. The album was recorded
at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama with the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and DeVille and Duncan Cameron producing. The album was a hit in some
European countries, entering the top 20 in Switzerland
and Sweden.[31][32] In 1986, DeVille led for bankruptcy
as part of what Billboard called a major restructuring of
his career. He red his personal manager, Michael Barnett, and announced that he would put Mink DeVille to
bed and start a solo career. Consequently, Mink DeVille
played its last concert on February 20, 1986 in New York
City.[33]

In December 1976, Ben Edmonds, an A&R man for

Capitol Records signed the band to a contract with Capitol Records after spotting them at CBGB.[22] Edmonds
paired Mink DeVille with producer Jack Nitzsche who
had apprenticed under Phil Spector and helped shape the
Wall of Sound production technique. Assisted by saxophonist Steve Douglas and a cappella singers the Immortals they recorded the bands debut album Cabretta
(simply called Mink DeVille in the U.S.) in January 1976.
Cabretta, a multifaceted album of soul, R&B, rock, and
blues recordings, was selected number 57 in the Village
Voice's 1977 Pazz & Jop critics poll.[23] Its lead single
"Spanish Stroll" reached number 20 on the UK Singles
Chart, the only Willy DeVille recording to ever hit the 2.2
charts in the United Kingdom.[24]

Storybook Love collaboration with

Mark Knoper

The bands follow-up album, Return to Magenta (1978),

continued in the same vein as Cabretta, except that Willy
DeVille and producers Nitzsche and Steve Douglas employed string arrangements on several songs. On this album Dr. John played keyboards and, once again, Douglas
played saxophone. To promote the album, Mink DeVille toured the United States in 1978 with Elvis Costello
and Nick Lowe. Return to Magenta reached number 126
on the Billboard 200, making it Willy DeVilles highest
charting album ever in his home country.[25]

Although Willy DeVille had been recording and touring

for ten years under the name Mink DeVille, no members
of his original band had recorded or toured with him since
1980s Le Chat Bleu. Beginning in 1987 with the album
Miracle, DeVille began recording and touring under his
own name. He told an interviewer, Ten years with the
band was enough for Mink DeVille; everyone was calling
me 'Mink.' I thought it was about time to get the name
straight.[34]

In 1979, Willy DeVille took his band in a new direction and recorded an album in Paris called Le Chat Bleu.
For the album, DeVille wrote several songs with Doc
Pomus who had previously seen the band play in New
York City.[26] DeVille hired Jean Claude Petit to supervise string arrangements, and he dismissed the members

DeVille recorded Miracle in London with Mark Knoper

serving as his sideman and producer. He said, It was
Mark (Knopers) wife Lourdes who came up with the
idea (to record Miracle). She said to him that you don't
sing like Willy and he doesn't play guitar like you, but
you really like his stu so why don't you do an album

2.4

Recording in Los Angeles

together?"[35] Storybook Love, a song from Miracle and

the theme song of the movie The Princess Bride, was
nominated for an Academy Award in 1987; DeVille performed the song at that years Academy Awards telecast.
Knoper heard (Storybook Love) and
asked if I knew about this movie he was doing.
It was a Rob Reiner lm about a princess and
a prince. The song was about the same subject
matter as the lm, so we submitted it to Reiner
and he loved it. About six or seven months
later, I was half asleep when the phone rang. It
was the Academy of Arts and Sciences with the
whole spiel. I hung up on them! They called
back and Lisa (his wife) answered the phone.
She came in to tell me that I was nominated for
Storybook Love. Its pretty wild. Its not the
Grammys its the Academy Awards, which
is dierent for a musician. Before I knew it, I
was performing on the awards show with Little
Richard. It was the year of Dirty Dancing, and
they won.[36]

2.3

In New Orleans

3
overdubs anywhere, no digital, no editing. We
played the song several times and just picked
the best take, the one that was the most natural. Its on Fnac/Orleans Records. I'm really
proud of that one.[36]
Victory Mixture was recorded for a small independent label, Orleans Records, which licensed it to Sky Ranch
(Fnac Music) in France. It sold over 100,000 units
in Europe very quicklyour rst gold disc, said Carlo
Ditta, founder of Orleans Records and the producer of
Victory Mixture.[38]
In the summer of 1992, DeVille toured Europe with Dr
John, Johnny Adams, Zachary Richard, and The Wild
Magnolias as part of his New Orleans Revue tour. The
travel, buses, and planes and the accommodations had to
be some of the worst I've ever experienced... but the shows
themselves were great. At the end of each show we'd throw
Mardi Gras Throws out to the audience, you know strands
of purple and gold beads, and they'd never seen anything
like it and they loved it. [39]

2.4 Recording in Los Angeles

In 1992, DeVille recorded Backstreets of Desire, the rst

of four albums he would record in Los Angeles with producer John Philip Shenale.[40] I say it every time I record
in L.A. that I'll never do it again, and I keep doing it...
Its crazy. I just record and go to the hotel, and never go
out, then back to the studio. I hate L.A. Its the worst. I
think they eat their children there. I never saw any kids.
Its a pity there aren't more studios in New Orleans. [36]
Although DeVille complained about having to record in
In 1990, DeVille made Victory Mixture, a tribute album Los Angeles, recording in that city put him in touch with
of classic New Orleans soul and R&B which he recorded many talented Latino musicians who helped shape his diswith some of the songs original composers. The album tinctive Spanish-Americana sound.
was recorded without the use of overdubbing or sound For Backstreets of Desire, he was joined by David Hiediting with the goal of capturing the spirit of the original dalgo of Los Lobos, Efrain Toro, Mariachi los Camperos,
recordings.
and Jimmy Zavala, as well as New Orleans musicians
Dr. John and Zachary Richard and L.A. session musiI got all the original guys to come back
cians Je Baxter, Freebo, Jim Gilstrap, and Brian Ray.
in, like Earl King, Dr. John and Eddie Bo.
Allmusic said about the album:
Allen Toussaint played side piano. I brought
in the rhythm section of The Meters on a couWilly DeVilles Backstreets of Desire stands
ple of cuts. We call it the little record. Its
tall as his masterpiece as both a singer and
funny, because I was just trying to get them
a songwriter. DeVilles considerable repumoney, the writers of the songs, 'cause they all
tation in Paris buoyed him up to make this
disc... With guest spots by Dr. John, Zachary
got ripped o in the 1950s and 1960s. They
Richard, and David Hidalgo, DeVille creates a
were all fascinated, and Dr. John (who had
tapestry of roots rock and Crescent City secplayed on DeVilles 1978 album Return to Magenta and who DeVille knew from his associond line, traces of 1950s doo-wop, and elegant
ation with Doc Pomus) convinced them that
sweeping vistas of Spanish soul balladry, comthey wouldn't get ripped o by this northern
bined with lyrics full of busted-down heroes,
white boy. Thats when I crossed over to behungry lovers, and wise men trying to get o
ing a local here in New Orleans. We were all
the street. The sound of the album balances
Creole soul and pure rock pyrotechnics. DeVpleased with it. Its recorded the way it was
ille sounds like a man resurrected, digging as
originally done back then. Its live with no
In 1988, DeVille relocated from New York to New Orleans, where he found a spiritual home. I was stunned,
he said in a 1993 interview. I had the feeling that I was
going back home. It was very strange... I live in the
French Quarter, two streets away from Bourbon Street;
at night, when I go to bed, I hear the boogie that comes
from the streets, and in the morning, when I wake up, I
hear the blues.[37]

2
deep as the cavernous recesses of the human
heart.[41]

Backstreets of Desire included a novel mariachi version

of the Jimi Hendrix standard Hey Joe that was a hit
in Europe, rising to number one in Spain and France.[42]
DeVille said about Hey Joe": The song originally
comes from the Texas-Mexico border area ... [T]hey call
it Texico. I tried, instead of doing something that sounded
like Jimi Hendrix that would have been a clich, I tried to
take the song back to the way that it must originally have
sounded, which would be with mariachis. Its classic, but
its classic with a little twist. A little dierent. I put a bit
of pachuco Canal Street slang talking. I added a couple of
verses of my own.[43] Backstreets of Desire was released
in the United States in 1994 on Rhino Records Forward
label.

2.5

Continued success in Europe

CAREER

duet with Brenda Lee; DeVille said: She didn't know

who the hell I was. I just called her up, played the song
for her, and she loved it. She had her business people
check me out, and they reported that I was big in Europe
and had been recording for twenty years. So I ew to
Nashville [to record with her]... Thats got to go down in
my book as one of the most memorable experiences in
my career.[36]
The cover of Loup Garou showed DeVille in turn of the
20th century New Orleans garb posing on a street corner in New Orleans French Quarter. It included voodoo
chants and a song subtitled Vampires Lullaby. The
singer had completely immersed himself in New Orleans
culture. Percussionist Boris Kinberg, a longtime member
of the Mink DeVille Band, said about the stages of Willy
DeVilles career:
To my mind there were three main eras.
The rst era was the Lower East Side, skinny
tie, purple shirt, West Side Story, Puerto Rican Sharks gang vibe. Then it transmuted
into the Mississippi plantation-gambler riverboat rogue, the Rhett Butler thing where he
had had custom-made suits, and really got
into the period and the clothes and just totally immersed himself in New Orleans, not the
present New Orleans, but the New Orleans of
the 1880s and 1890sthe Absinthe-drinking,
voodoo New Orleans. He totally immersed
himself in that. Then he left New Orleans and
moved to the Southwest and came back as the
second coming of Black Elk.[47]

In 1984, DeVille married his second wife, Lisa

Leggett,[44] who proved to be an astute business manager. On the strength of his success touring and selling
albums in Europe, they bought a horse farm, Casa de
Sueos, in Picayune, Mississippi and began living there
as well as at their apartment and studio in the French
Quarter of New Orleans. DeVille told an interviewer in
1996: I nally got the plantation... I just bought this
house and 11 acres (45,000 m2 ). It looks a little bit like
Graceland... I got into horses since my wife is into them.
We're raising Spanish and Portuguese bullghting horses.
The bloodline is 2000 years old. Shes into breeding, but
I just love riding. I've also got ve dogs, four cats and a
Before moving to the Southwest in 2000, DeVille
partridge in a pear tree.[36]
recorded Horse of a Dierent Color in Memphis. The
DeVille did not have a recording contract with an Amer- 1999 album, produced by Jim Dickinson, includes a
ican label in the mid-1990s. His next two albums, Willy chain-gang song, a cover of Fred McDowell's Going
DeVille Live (1993) and Big Easy Fantasy (1995), were over the Hill, and a cover of Andre Williams's Bacon
recorded for Fnac Music, a French label. Willy DeVille Fat. Allmusic said about the album, Simply put, no one
Live was a number one record in Spain.[45] Big Easy Fan- has this range or depth in interpreting not only styles, but
tasy presents live recordings of the Mink DeVille Band also the poetics of virtually any set of lyrics. DeVille
playing with New Orleans legends Eddie Bo and The makes everything he sings believable. 'Horse of a DifWild Magnolias and remixes from the Victory Mixture ferent Color' is the most consistent and brilliant recordsessions.
ing of Willy DeVilles long career.[48] Horse of a DierDeVille said, I was pissed o and I didn't have a record ent Color was the rst Willy DeVille album since 1987s
deal for a few years. At the time I didn't want one. I was Miracle to be released simultaneously in Europe and the
getting very gun-shy about labels. I was performing in United States. His previous ve albums had been released
Europe and I was doing great without one. When you get rst in Europe and picked up later, if they were picked up
to that stage in your mind, they all start coming around. at all, by American record labels.
Its pretty strange the way that happens.[36]
In 1995, he returned to Los Angeles to record Loup
Garou, again with producer John Philip Shenale.
Musician said about the album: "Loup Garou is subtle
in nuance but staggering in scope, it connects the dots between all of the artists sacrosanct inuences, often within
the framework of a single song... All of it is on the money,
performed from the heart...[46] Loup Garou featured a

2.6 Epiphany in the Southwest

By 2000, DeVille had cured his two-decades-long addiction to heroin.[49] He relocated to Cerrillos Hills, New
Mexico, where he produced and played on an album, Blue
Love Monkey, with Rick Nafey, a friend from his youth
in Connecticut who had played in DeVilles rst band,

2.7

Return to New York City

Willy DeVille performing in 2004.

Billy & the Kids, as well as The Royal Pythons.[50] In

New Mexico, DeVilles wife Lisa committed suicide by
hanging; DeVille discovered her body. He said:
I got in a car accident because I got crazy.
I think I was somewhat taunting death because
somebody who I loved very much died. And I
found them. Thats what that lyric in that song
means (she hurts me still since I cut her down
[from Downside of Town on Crow Jane Alley]). I cut her down. Next thing you know
the police show up, I was in tears... I was in
love with another woman and we were going
through some hard times, and I got in the car
and I wanted to go o the cli. I was in the
mountains in New Mexico... They came right
around the corner head on. You know how big
a Dodge Ram truck is? I broke my arm in three
places and my knee went into the dash board...
It was bone to bone... I was on crutches and on
a cane for about three years and I couldnt go
anywhere or do anything. I was fucked up. I
was ready for the scrapheap.[51]

Willy DeVille at the Liri Blues Festival, Italy, in 2007

Los Angeles Latino musicians. On the cover, DeVille wore a Native American headdress and breastplate.
Richard Marcus said of the album, Crow Jane Alley is
the work of an artist who after thirty plus years in the
business still has the ability to surprise and delight his
listeners. Listening to this disc only conrms that Willy
DeVille is one of the greats who have been ignored for
too long.[54]

2.7 Return to New York City

After living for 15 years in New Orleans and the Southwest, DeVille returned to New York City in 2003,[55]
where he took up residence with Nina Lagerwall, his third
wife. He continued touring Europe, usually playing muI guess I was testing the waters to see if I would live sic festivals in the summer.
through it, DeVille told another interviewer. It was a On Mardi Gras of 2008, Pistola, DeVilles sixteenth alfoolish, foolish thing to do.[52] For the next ve years, bum, was released. Independent Music said about the alDeVille walked with a cane and performed sitting on a bum: "(Willy DeVille) has never been more artistically
barstool, until he had hip replacement surgery in 2006.[53] potent than on Pistola, confronting the demons of his past
DeVilles stay in the Southwest awakened his interest in with an impressive lyrical honesty and unexpectedly dihis Native American heritage. On the cover of his next verse musical imagination.[56]
album, 2002s Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin, recorded to
celebrate his 25 years of performing, DeVille wore long
hair. He began wearing Native American clothing and 3 Personal life
jewelry on stage.
In 2004, DeVille returned to Los Angeles to record Crow
Jane Alley, his third album with producer John Philip
Shenale. The album continued his explorations of his
Spanish-Americana sound and featured many prominent

Willy DeVille was married in the early 1970s to Susan

Berle (February 19, 1950August 12, 2004), who was
known as Toots Deville.[57] Toots and Willy had known
each other while growing up in Stamford, Connecticut.

5 DISCOGRAPHY

They were married in 1971, and he adopted her son, Sean.

Alex Halberstadt, Doc Pomus's biographer, wrote about
Toots, Half French and half Pima Indian, Toots favored
a pair of nose rings, snow-white kabuki make-up and a
Ronettes-style beehive the color of tar. She'd once put
out a lit Marlboro in a womans eye just for staring at
Willy.[58]
In 1984, DeVille married his second wife, Lisa Leggett,
whom he met in California.[44] She became his business
manager. They lived near New Orleans and on a horse
farm in Picayune, Mississippi. After her suicide in 2001,
he married Nina Lagerwall (daughter of Sture Lagerwall),
his third wife, who he met in New York in August 2000.
They returned to New York City, where he spent the rest
of his life.[59]

Thom Jurek wrote about him after his death, Willy DeVille is Americas loss even if America doesnt know it yet.
The reason is simple: Like the very best rock and roll writers and performers in our history, hes one of the very few
who got it right; he understood what made a three-minute
song great, and why it matteredbecause it mattered to
him. He lived and died with the audience in his shows,
and he gave them something to remember when they left
the theater, because he meant every single word of every
song as he performed it. Europeans like that. In this jingoistic age of American pride, perhaps we can revisit our
own true love of rock and roll by discovering Willy DeVille for the rst timeor, at the very least, remember him
for what he really was: an American original. The mythos
and pathos in his songs, his voice, and his performances
were born in these streets and cities and then given to the
world who appreciated him much more than we did. [68]

Singer Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band said about him,

He had all the roots of music that I love and had this
whole street thing of R&B just the whole gestalt... He
In February 2009, DeVille was diagnosed with Hepatitis was just a tremendous talent; a true artist in the sense
C, and in May of that year doctors discovered pancreatic that he never compromised. He had a special vision and
cancer in the course of his Hepatitis C treatment.[60] He remained true to it.[69]
died in New York City in the late hours of August 6, 2009,
Writing in the Wall Street Journal about the posthumous
three weeks shy of his 59th birthday.[61]
release of DeVilles Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of
About his legacy, DeVille told an interviewer, I have a Willy DeVille Live (2011), Marc Meyers declared, There
theory. I know that I'll sell much more records when I'm was creative heat and pain in Mr. DeVilles eerie, edgy
dead. It isn't very pleasant, but I have to get used to this look and sound. While his punk-roadhouse fusion sailed
idea. [62]
over the heads of many at home, his approach inspired
Jack Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had many British pop invaders of the 1980s, including Tears
for Fears, Human League and Culture Club... He was
ever worked with.[63]
a punk eclectic with a heart of golden oldies and Joe
Critic Robert Palmer wrote about him in 1980, Mr.
Cocker's pipes. A seedy sophisticate, Mr. DeVille was
DeVille is a magnetic performer, but his macho stage presdecades ahead of his time.[70]
ence camouages an acute musical intelligence; his songs
and arrangements are rich in ethnic rhythms and blues
echoes, the most disparate stylistic references, yet they ow
seamlessly and hang together solidly. He embodies (New 5 Discography
Yorks) tangle of cultural contradictions while making muFor a complete discography of Willy DeVille
sic thats both idiomatic, in the broadest sense, and utterly
recordings, see Willy DeVille discography.
original. [64]

Death and legacy

In a 2015 interview, Bob Dylan suggested DeVille should

With Mink DeVille:
be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Said Dylan,
"(DeVille) stood out, his voice and presentation ought to
1977: Cabretta (in Europe); Mink Deville (in the
have gotten him in there by now.[65]
U.S.) (Capitol)
Critic Thom Jurek said about him, His catalog is more
1978: Return to Magenta (Capitol)
diverse than virtually any other modern performer. The
genre span of the songs hes written is staggering. From
1980: Le Chat Bleu (Capitol)
early rock and rhythm and blues styles, to Delta-styled
blues, from Cajun music to New Orleans second line, from
1981: Coup de Grce (Atlantic)
Latin-tinged folk to punky salseros, to elegant orchestral
1983: Where Angels Fear to Tread (Atlantic)
balladsfew people could write a love song like DeVille.
He was the embodiment of rock and rolls romance, its the 1985: Sportin' Life (Polydor)
ater, its style, its drama, camp, and danger. [66]
His sometime collaborator Mark Knoper said of DeV- As Willy DeVille:
ille, Willy had an enormous range. The songs he wrote
1987: Miracle (Polydor)
were original, romantic and straight from the heart.[67]

7
1990: Victory Mixture (Sky Ranch) 1990 (Orleans
Records)

[13] Marcus, Richard (2006) Interview: Willy DeVille. Leap

in the Dark (blogsite) (Retrieved 1-29-08)

1992: Backstreets of Desire (Fnac Music) (Rhino,

1994)

[14] Harris, Craig (2006) Willy DeVille:

Allmusic. (Retrieved 1-29-08)

1993: Willy DeVille Live (Fnac Music)

[15] Billy Pinnell interview with DeVille on Australian radio

on the 1994 Raven CD reissue of Miracle

1995: Big Easy Fantasy (New Rose)

1995: Loup Garou (EastWest) (Discovery, 1996)
1999: Horse of a Dierent Color (EastWest)
2002: Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin (Eagle)
2004: Crow Jane Alley (Eagle)
2008: Pistola (Eagle)

References

[1] For example, the term Spanish-Americana appears on

DeVilles MySpace Music page (Retrieved 01-24-2008)
[2] Fusilli, Jim (August 7, 2009) Willy DeVille Dies at 58.
Wall Street Journal. (Retrieved 8-11-09)
[3] Editors (August 10, 2009) Punk pioneer Willy DeVille
dies. BBC News. (Retrieved 8-11-09.)
[4] Grimes, William (August 10, 2009) Willy DeVille: Punk
Rock Pioneer. The Miami Herald. (Retrieved 8-12-09)
[5] Sneum, Jan (2004). Mink DeVille. Politikens store rock
leksikon (in Danish) (4th ed.). Politikens Forlag. pp. 890
91. ISBN 978-87-567-6201-4.
[6] Editors (September 9, 2009) Music Obituaries: Willy
DeVille. The Daily Telegraph. (Retrieved 09-09-2009)
[7] Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006). Willy
DeVille, Dirty Linen #125, p. 37
[8] Marcus, Richard (2006) Interview: Willy DeVille Leap
in the Dark blogsite (Retrieved 01-29-2008)
[9] Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006) Willy
DeVille. Dirty Linen #125, p. 37
[10] See Rhodes, Dusty (1978) Issue 13: Mink DeVille:
Smooth Running Caddy: The Tale of the Mink, Rock
Around the World (Retrieved 01-29-2008) DeVille said,
I was always considered an asshole... I never t in at
school... I was always looked upon as the weird.
[11] Rhodes, Dusty (1978) Issue 13: Mink DeVille: Smooth
Running Caddy: The Tale of the Mink Rock Around the
World. (Retrieved 01-29-2008)
[12] DeVille said I heard John Lee Hooker when I was twelve
years old. When I heard that voice, I said, 'Man I gotta
sound like that.' So I was 12 years old, with my face full of
freckles... I went around saying 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...'
trying to sound like John Lee Hooker. I'm very happy
that he has nally got the commercial success, because he
has inuenced so many people..., Editors (1994) Interview: Concierto Bsico Canal magazine. (Retrieved
03-09-2008)

Biography.

[16] See Blue Love Monkey on MySpace, About the Blue

Love Monkey, which describes singer-songwriter Rick
Nafeys collaborations with DeVille in Billy & the Kids
(a blues-rock group in the Rolling Stones-Kinks vein),
The Immaculate Conception (a wildly eclectic collection
of original material with inuences ranging from The Holy
Modal Rounders to George Jones and Tammy Wynette"),
and the Royal Pythons (performing original material as
well as folk, country and blues numbers). (Retrieved 109-09.)
[17] Ryan, Tom (2003) In Memory of Willy Deville A Rebroadcast of Our 2003 Interview. Shaddup and Listen
on American Hit Radio. (48:32). How long have you
been married now?" Since I was seventeen. Is this the
same wife?" No, this is my third. (Retrieved 10-9-09.)
[18] FaceCulture Interview (June 7, 2006) Willy DeVille:
Willy about funerals, songwriting, second sight, his grandmother FaceCulture.com (Retrieved 04-06-2008)
[19] Rhodes, Dusti (1978) Issue 13: Mink DeVille: Smooth
Running Caddy: The Tale of the Mink Rock Around the
World (Retrieved 01-29-2008)
[20] Klein, Howard (October 1977) Mink De Ville: Slick Fur
Fury. Creem. Vol. 9 No. 5; p. 28.
[21] Marcus, Richard (2006) Interview: Willy DeVille. Leap
in the Dark (a blog). (Retrieved 1-29-08)
[22] Edmonds, Ben (2001). Cadillac Walk: The Mink DeVille
Collection (liner notes). Mink DeVille. Capitol Records.
[23] Christgau, Robert (1977) The 1977 Pazz & Jop Critics
Poll Robert Christgau website (Retrieved 02-01-2008)
[24] Roach, Martin, ed. (2008). The Virgin Book of British Hit
Singles (1st ed.). London: Virgin Books. p. 281. ISBN
978-0-7535-1537-2.
[25] Mink DeVille: Billboard Albums. Allmusic. Retrieved
2009-10-11.
[26] Halberstadt, Alex (2007) Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely
Life and Times of Doc Pomus. New York: De Capo Press;
p. 213
[27] Loder, Kurt (December 11, 1980) Willy DeVilles best:
Le Chat Bleu. Rolling Stone; no. 332, p 55-56.
[28] Rolling Stone magazine. 1980 - Critics. Rolling Stone End
o Year Critics & Readers Polls. (Retrieved 3-14-08.)
[29] Baker, Glenn A. (1987) Individual Critics Top 10s. The
World Critics Lists ~ 1987. (Retrieved 3-14-08.)
[30] Palmer, Robert (September 25, 1981) Pop Jazz; Willy
DeVille and the Mink in Weekend at the Savoy, New York
Times

[31] Swiss Album Charts: Mink DeVille. swisscharts.com.

Retrieved 2009-10-11.
[32] Swedish Album Charts:
Mink
swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-10-11.

DeVille.

[33] Wilner, Rich (March 1, 1986) DeVille Files for

Bankruptcy. Billboard; Vol. 98, No. 9. Page 77.
[34] See the Billy Pinnell interview with DeVille on Australian
radio on the 1994 Raven CD reissue of Miracle.
[35] Marcus, Richard (2006) Interview: Willy DeVille Leap
in the Dark (blogsite) (Retrieved 03-06-2008.)

REFERENCES

now for almost 10 years, except for when I had to go back

on morphine right after the car accident just to be able to
walk. (Cohen, Elliot Stephen [August/September 2006].
Willy DeVille Dirty Linen #125, p. 39)
[50] Blue Love Monkey CD Baby. (Retrieved 04-20-2009)
[51] FaceCulture Interview (June 7, 2006) Willy DeVille:
Willy DeVille about his metal hip, his car accident, going crazy and sacred stu!. FaceCulture.com (Retrieved
04-29-2009)
[52] Cohen, Elliot Stephen (August/September 2006) Willy
DeVille. Dirty Linen #125 p. 39

[36] Rene, Sheila (1996) Interview with Willy DeVille,

Willy DeVille Fan Page (Retrieved 01-30-2008)

[53] Cohen, op cit supra.

[37] Laura Rangel (1993) Interviews: King Creole, Willy

DeVille: Spanish Stroll (Retrieved 01-29-2008)

[54] Marcus, Richard (June 24, 2006) CD Review: Crow Jane

Alley Willy DeVille Leap in the Dark (blogsite) (Retrieved 03-25-2008)

[38] Sinclair, John (August 24September 5, 1998) Orleans

Records Story. On the Road with John Sinclair. (Retrieved 03-06-2008)

[55] Grimes, William (August 10, 2009) Willy DeVille: Punk

Rock Pioneer. The Miami Herald. (Retrieved 8-12-09.)

[39] Marcus, Richard (2006) Interview: Willy DeVille, Leap

in the Dark (blogsite) (Retrieved 03-06-2008)

[56] Gill, Andy (January 24, 2008) Willy DeVille: Pistola

The Independent (Retrieved 02-04-2008)

[40] DeVille recorded these albums in Los Angeles with John

Philip Shenale as producer: Backstreets of Desire (1992),
Loup Garou (1995), Crow Jane Alley (2004), and Pistola
(2008).

[57] For more information about Toots, see Herwig, Jana (August 7, 2009) What ever happened to Toots DeVille?
(Did Heroin kill her?") digiom (blogsite). Retrieved 817-2009.

[41] Jurek, Thom (2007) Review: Backstreets of Desire

Allmusic. (Retrieved 02-02-2008)

[58] Halberstadt, Alex (2007) Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely

Life and Times of Doc Pomus, New York: De Capo Press.
p. 214. DeVille said about Toots in 1996, I haven't seen
her in over ten years. I ran o on her, I guess. She was
fascinating, all right. She loved to ght and pull knives
out. She used to get me into a lot of trouble. Interview
with Willy DeVille Willy DeVille Fan Page (Retrieved
01-30-2008)

[42] See Rene, Sheila (1996) Interview with Willy DeVille

Willy DeVille fan page. (Retrieved 02-02-2008)
[43] Editors (1994) Interview: Concierto Bsico. Canal
magazine. (Retrieved 03-09-2008)
[44] Trynka, Paul (2007) Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed. New
York: Broadway Books. p. 346. A footnote in this book
reveals wife Lisas maiden name.

[59] Dangerous Minds (June 5, 2013) Where Angels Fear to

Tread: Willy DeVille, rocks beautiful loser. (Retrieved
6-1-2014.)

[45] Eagle Rock Entertainment (2007) DeVille, Willy, Web

site of Eagle Rock Entertainment. (Retrieved 03-082008.)

[60] News. Willy DeVille: Ocial Website. Retrieved 422-2009.

[46] Editors (September 1996) Review of Loup Garou, Musician magazine, p. 90

[61] Punk pioneer Willy DeVille dies. BBC News. 2009-0810. Retrieved 2009-08-11.

[47] See interviews on Live in the Lowlands (DVD) (2006; Eagle Rock).

[62] Rangel, Laura (January 1991) Interviews: King Creole.

Willy DeVille: Spanish Stroll (Retrieved on 1-29-08)

[48] Jurek, Thom (2007) Review: Horse of a Dierent Color

Allmusic. (Retrieved 03-09-2008)

[63] Edmonds, Ben (2001) Liner notes to Cadillac Walk: The

Mink DeVille Collection. Edmonds wrote, During my last
conversation with Nitzsche, only months before his death
last year, the irascible old witch doctor couldn't stop taking
about the new album he'd been plotting with Willy, and
how DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with.

[49] DeVilles addiction to heroin began in the mid-1970s and

lasted until the mid-1990s. In a 1996 interview, he said,
I've been addicted to morphine and if you managed to
evade that you would be envied. I've been addicted for
twenty years, okay? I took enough to kill the whole of
Paris. (Editors [October 14, 1996] La Laiterie Interview on Route 66, French RDL Radio. [Retrieved on 0309-2008]) He said in a 2006 interview, If I told you I was
totally clean now, I don't think youd believe me, but I can
get out a cake and cut the candles because I've been clean

[64] Palmer, Robert (September 18, 1980) Pop: Willy DeVille Band, New York Times; p. C32
[65] Dylan, Bob (February 13, 2015) A Post-MusiCares Conversation with Bill Flanagan. bobdylan.com. (Retrieved
3-23-2015.)

[66] Jurek, Thom (August 10, 2009) Willy DeVille, RIP: Remembering an American Original. The Allmusic Blog.
(Retrieved 8-14-09)
[67] Quote originally published at Leap In The Dark:Willy
DeVille: RIP as part of this much longer statement issued by Knoper at Richard Marcus request: I've been an
admirer of Willys since hearing his stunning voice on the
radio for the rst time. He has an enormous range, with inuences from all corners of the country, from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and New Orleans music to Latin,
folk-rock, doo-wop, Ben E. King style soul and R&B - all
part of the New York mix. The songs he writes are original, often romantic and always straight from the heart. He
can paint a character in a few words. When we worked on
his Miracle album I enjoyed the occasional opportunity to
oer a chord or two to go with his great lyrics.
[68] Jurek, Thom (August 10, 2009) Willy DeVille, RIP: Remembering an American Original, The Allmusic Blog.
(Retrieved 08-14-2009)
[69] Editors (April 1, 2010) Peter Wolf on 'Totally Unrecognized' Singer Willy DeVille. Speakeasy: Wall Street Journal blog. (Retrieved 4-10-2010.)
[70] Meyers, Marc (May 20, 2011) Brilliant, Shook-Up Guy.
Wall Street Journal.

External links
The Ocial Willy DeVille Website
Willy DeVille Social Network
Willy DeVille Photo Gallery
Willy DeVille and The Mink DeVille Band on MySpace
Willy DeVille at the Internet Movie Database
Interview with Willy at Leap In The Dark with
Richard Marcus
FaceCulture: Video interview with Willy DeVille
Music Obituaries: Willy DeVille - Daily Telegraph obituary
Willy DeVille, Mink DeVille Singer and Songwriter, Is Dead at 58 - New York Times obituary
Willy DeVille, RIP: Remembering an American
Original - Allmusic obituary
Willy DeVille, Whose Creativity and Inuence
Outgrew the New York Punk Scene - The Guardian
obituary

10

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Willy DeVille Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_DeVille?oldid=687610921 Contributors: Merovingian, Academic Challenger,

(:Julien:), Oneiros, D6, Jayjg, Bender235, Surachit, Stemonitis, Tabletop, BD2412, Rjwilmsi, Nightscream, Koavf, SpencerThiel,
MikeJ9919, Husky, YurikBot, Tenebrae, C777, Mr Bisciut, Rms125a@hotmail.com, BualoBob, Crystallina, SmackBot, Griot~enwiki,
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8.2

Images

File:DEVILL111.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/DEVILL111.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: ger1axg
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File:Mink_DeVille.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Mink_DeVille.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Plismo
File:Willy_DeVille_Liri_Blues_2007.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Willy_DeVille_Liri_Blues_
2007.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: The author (Simone Quattrociocchi) gave me the le Original artist: Simone Quattrociocchi

8.3

Content license

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