Songwriter, producer, and arranger Norman (Jesse) Whitfield died 16 September 2008 of heart and kidney failure, results of diabetes. Born 12 May 1941 in Harlem in New York City, he won a Grammy Award in 1977 for the original score of Car Wash, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
Most of his work was for Motown Refcords, and according to his daughter Irasha Whitfield (who announced his death), he often wrote both lyrics and music. He wrote more than 450 songs that were released during his lifetime, though his iconic “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” was co-written with frequent collaborator Barrett Strong. He was also renowned as a producer, working on many recordings for The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson Five, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Bruce Springsteen. Whitfield left Motown in the mid-1970s and started his own label, Whitfield Records (where he produced the Car Wash soundtrack.
His genre connections include appearances on the soundtracks of La Science des rêves (2006), Just Like Heaven (2005), Shark Tale (2004), Xena: Warrior Princess (2000), Futurama (1999), and Small Soldiers (1998).
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by four sons, a brother, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.