US news sources are reporting the death of songwriter/producer DANNY SEMBELLO. Details are sketchy, but it seems that the Grammy award winning Sembello drowned in the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia earlier this week.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Danny was the brother of songwriter Michael “Manic” Sembello and he’s best known for co-writing the Pointer Sisters’ hit ‘Neutron Dance’ and Patti LaBelle’s ‘Stir It Up’. Danny’s songs were also recorded by people like Chaka Khan, George Benson, Rene and Angela and Jeffrey Osborne while he also won the Grammy for work on the movie soundtrack ‘Beverly Hills Cop’.
In 2007 he produced the acclaimed ‘Revolution Of The Spirit’ album – a musical celebration of the achievements of Desmond Tutu, Mohandas Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Sojourner Truth, Henry David Thoreau, Jane Addams, Cesar Chavez, Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
