Composer Billy Alessi has joined his twin Bobby at JSM, New York, where the two will head Alessi, the music production company’s commercial songwriting division.
Billy Alessi spent 16 years at Crushing Music, New York, where he has written the Diet Coke theme for 14 years. His most recent entry is "Parade" for Lowe & Partners (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), New York. His jingles can be heard on the "Icon," "Kindergarten" and "Dance" ads for Young & Rubicam, New York’s ongoing Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper campaigns. He has also composed music for Sears, J.C. Penney, 7-Up, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s, among others.
The pair is currently working on Kool-Aid’s "Countdown," "Rocket" and "Dog Wash" for Ogilvy & Mather, New York. The Alessis have also composed Kohl’s Department Stores’ "I Like It" and "Super Saturday" out of J. Walter Thompson, Detroit.
Bobby Alessi has been at JSM for 12 years. He composed LifeSavers spots starring Ladysmith Black Mambazo for then FCB/ Leber Katz Partners (now Foote, Cone & Belding), New York, including "Tropical Fruit," "Five Flavors," "Butter Rum" and "Coolala," the last of which won a Clio in ’94. "I Go Greyhound" for Greyhound Bus Lines via Temerlin McClain, Dallas, won an Addy, also in ’94. That spot featured B.B. King.
Though the two have regularly collaborated, Billy Alessi’s decision to join JSM was relatively recent. He explained, "I was taking time off from Crushing and coming over and working with my brother. We’d have a good time, and finally it seemed the obvious thing."
Joel Simon, JSM company president/managing partner/ executive producer, said, "We’ve been talking about joining forces for a while, and things finally aligned themselves."
"We have different strengths," according to Billy Alessi. "Bobby is more technical than I am. He is a pioneer of sounds and a great writer. I, on the other hand, am more comfortable sitting down at a piano and writing a song."
The Alessis write for the piano and guitar. Their influences include Todd Rundgren and Stevie Wonder—"anything that has good melodic sense to it." While their compositions cover a variety of musical styles, Bobby said, "If we had to pick an area that we really love, it would be the pop that we grew up with: the Beach Boys, the Beatles. We love the melodic harmonies."
They also like Elton John and Sting, for whom they recently sang backup for an upcoming Disney animated film tentatively titled Evil Under the Sun. They have written songs for those performers, as well as for Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Carly Simon.
The musical partnership began at the age of five, when the twins composed a ditty called "Hallelujah Baby." Bobby Alessi laughed, "We thought we were in the music business from birth! Every time there was a family gathering, Billy and I would have to sit on the steps and sing a song. It was second nature to us, to write songs and to harmonize."
The brothers became jingle writers after a stint in the Broadway musical Hair from ’70-’72. "It was fun to do; it was like [making] a mini-record. We enjoyed it, and over the years, whenever we had the chance, we’d do a commercial," Bobby Alessi explained. The Alessis recorded eight albums for Atlantic, A&M and Warner Brothers, and toured the world. But eventually they tired of life on the road and began composing jingles full time.
The decision to name JSM’s subsidiary music division after two of its composers was easy, according to Simon: "Alessi is a very powerful name in this business. These guys deserve to have their name out there and for people to know exactly who they are."
JSM’s roster of composers includes Andy Bloch, Jamie Hartman, Raymond Loewy, Greg Mangiafico, Nile Rodgers, David Torn, Krishna Venkatesh, Morgan Visconti and Gareth Williams. They are represented internationally and on the East and West coasts by senior producer Victoria Villalobos, and by Alyson Griffith in the South and Midwest.
