Singer, songwriter, and musician Dwight Twilley was born on June 6, 1951, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A pioneer of the power pop genre, his musical journey began in 1967 when he met Phil Seymour, who was also a singer, songwriter, and musician. The duo forged a musical partnership that took them from Tulsa to Memphis, Tennessee before settling in Los Angeles, California in 1974. Along with guitarist Bill Pitcock IV, they became The Dwight Twilley Band and signed with Shelter Records. The group’s first single, “I’m on Fire,” was a surprise hit and reached number 15 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart. The Dwight Twilley Band’s debut album, Sincerely, was released in 1976 and reached number 138 on the Billboard 200. Two years later, the band’s second album, Twilley Don’t Mind, was released and climbed to number 70 on the Billboard 200. However, the band split up and the members went their separate ways. Dwight Twilley’s first solo album, Twilley, was issued in 1979 and hit number 113 on the Billboard 200. After the release of his second album, Scuba Divers (1982), he hit the Top 40 with his album Jungle (1984) and the single “Girls,” which slid into the Top 20 and landed at number 16. However, he was not able to maintain his commercial momentum and subsequent albums – including Wild Dogs (1986), XXI (1996), The Luck (2001), 47 Moons (2005), and a series of Rarities compilations – failed to reach a larger audience outside of his power pop fanbase. He continued to release albums sporadically including The Beatles (2009), Green Blimp (2010), Soundtrack (2011), and Always (2014). Dwight Twilley died on October 18, 2023, at the age of 72. His death came twenty years after the sudden passing of his former bandmate, Phil Seymour, in August 1993.
