Songwriter Bill Dees dead at 73

Posted on Nov 1, 2012 in Entertainment | 0 comments

American songwriter Bill Dees, who co-wrote “Oh, Pretty Woman” and 60 other songs with Roy Orbison, died in Mountain Home, Ark., at the age of 73.

The Texas natives met after Orbison performed in Amarillo, Dees told the Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News in 1970.

Dees moved his family to Nashville in 1964 after traveling to Music City twice to work with Orbison.

“My wife and I decided that we would go as far as the car would take us,” Dees said in 1970. “If it broke down before we got there, we would save money and move further on later.”

Dees also wrote for Loretta Lynn and released three solo albums between 2002 and 2008.

“His life depended on his imagination, and it was alive and well, I’ll tell you,” his brother, Mike Dees, told the newspaper.

“Bill never could read music, but he had all these sounds (in his head),” he said. “He always visualized the whole song when he was writing it out. Just a pretty amazing guy.”

Dees, who died Oct. 24, is survived by his wife, Nancy Decker-Dees, four children and two stepchildren, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International