Image: Wikimedia Commons

Willy DeVille

American singer-songwriter (1950–2009)

PersonDied aged 58humanQ455762

Born: August 25, 1950
3
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2015-10-16
2.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/arts/music/08deville.html
3.fr.findagrave.com/memorial/103683407/willy-deville
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, August 27, 1953
4
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-04-29
2.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
3.universalmusic.fr/artiste/1984-willy-deville/bio
4.Stated in Le Monde
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: August 6, 2009
3
Sources
1.abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=8277665
2.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
3.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2015-10-16
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Stamford
Place of death: New York City
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-12-31
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: singer-songwriter
, composer
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2026-04-20
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, guitarist
+3 more
Spouse: Toots Deville

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created 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 Knopfler, Allen Toussaint, and Eddie Bo. Latin rhythms, blues riffs, doo-wop, Cajun music, strains of French cabaret, and echoes of early-1960s uptown soul can be heard in DeVille's work.

Overview

Appears in

2 linked to Willy DeVille in Wikidata

Composed

1 linked to Willy DeVille in Wikidata

DDer Schattenmann1996 · 1996 television film directed by Dieter Wedel

Author of

6 linked to Willy DeVille in Wikidata

Performed

16 linked to Willy DeVille in Wikidata

All data

92 statements · 32% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Discography: Willy DeVille discography
Cause of death: pancreatic cancer
Given name: William nickname: Willy, Mink
Paul
Instrument: guitar
1
Sources
1.Stated in Montreux Jazz Festival DatabaseRetrieved 2020-09-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
harmonica
voice
1
Sources
1.Stated in Montreux Jazz Festival DatabaseRetrieved 2020-09-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Manner of death: natural causes
Genre: blues
soul
rhythm and blues
Cajun music
music of Latin America
1
Sources
1.Stated in Montreux Jazz Festival DatabaseRetrieved 2020-09-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Label: Capitol Records
Atlantic Records
Era Records
Birth name: William Paul Borsay
Start of work period: 1976
End of work period: 2009
Sex or gender: male
2
Sources
1.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
2.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2024-06-23
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Family name: Deville
Place of burial: Fairfield Memorial Park
Nominations: Academy Award for Best Original Song(February 16, 1988) in work: The Princess Bride · statement is subject of: 60th Academy Awards
1
Sources
1.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1988
View statement on Wikidata ↗

On other databases

53 identifiers linking Willy DeVille across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

32%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 14, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Willy DeVille (Q455762). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/willy-deville-Q455762