Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell, the soulful singer-songwriter behind the 1978 hit 'What You Won't Do for Love,' has died after a long illness. He was 71.

used “My Flame,” also from “Bobby Caldwell,” for the 1997 song “Sky’s The Limit,” and his song “Open Your Eyes” from the 1980 album “Cat in the Hat” was later sampled by rapper Common for his 2000 single “The Light.” In 2019, Lil Nas X was issued a $25 million lawsuit for sampling Caldwell’s “Carry On” (from the 1982 album of the same name) for a song on his pre-fame mixtape “Nasarati.” Caldwell’s music has since been sampled hundreds of times (according to Whosampled, “What You Won’t Do for Love” alone has been used or covered by everyone from Aaliyah to Tupac). After TK went bankrupt in 1981, Caldwell continued recording albums under his own name, while writing songs for other artists at the suggestion of singer Boz Scaggs.

Bobby Caldwell, the singer-songwriter who scored a top 10 hit with "What You Won't Do for Love" and wrote "The Next Time I Fall," died March 15 at 71.

But I had a lot of fun doing it.” “I had never before looked at myself as a songwriter for other people,” he said in a 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times. Back in the Sunshine State, he was signed to Clouds Records, a unit of Henry Stone’s TK Records that was having huge success with KC and the Sunshine Band. But TK Records would fold in the early ’80s, and the singer was unable to replicate that U.S. [Bobby Caldwell](https://deadline.com/tag/bobby-caldwell/), the soulful singer-songwriter who scored a top 10 hit with “What You Won’t Do for Love” and wrote “The Next Time I Fall,” a No. After more than a half-decade of working to score a record deal, he returned to Miami.

Bobby Caldwell, who had a hit in 1978 with "What You Won't Do For Love," died at home in New Jersey.

"In the songwriter community, I eventually established myself as someone who could be a chameleon and tailor things for other people," Caldwell told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. "Most of the wonderful people I've gotten to know in the radio business, they all say the same thing. "I was very surprised at seeing nothing but Black [people] in the audience. And certainly they were probably more surprised than I was!" It was also famously sampled by Tupac Shakur on his posthumous 1998 hit "Do for Love." Both of his parents were singers, and hosted Suppertime, one of TV's first musical variety programs, according to his

The singer's soulful soft-rock hit from the '70s was later sampled by artists including Aaliyah and Tupac.

As Caldwell maintained a career as a smooth jazz musician, younger generations discovered rhythms and grooves lying in his albums from the 1970s and early 1980s. Caldwell dabbled in various jazz styles, including interpreting the great American songbook in the vein of Frank Sinatra. “What You Won’t Do For Love,” Caldwell’s lone Billboard Top 40 hit, is a defining single of late-1970s soft rock, occupying a place between mellow adult contemporary and sultry quiet storm R&B.

Bobby Caldwell, the oft-sampled, blue-eyed soul singer behind the late Seventies smash "What You Won't Do for Love," has died at the age of 71.

[told Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/cool-uncle-inside-2015s-smartest-retro-soul-revival-33862/3/) at the time. However, when Caldwell finally began making public appearances in support of the track, it didn’t lessen the single’s commercial success with Black audiences. “Because he’s 20 years my junior. “I held him tight in my arms as he left us. [Open Your Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKfSPTUNWqw)” for Common’s 2000 single “The Light,” and Kendrick Lamar used the same song for his “ [R.O.T.C.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMNoNguas30)” Caldwell’s “ [My Flame](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Ds1ev9GeM)” was utilized on the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Sky’s the Limit” with 112, and his “ [Carry On](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ehpe7b4fX8)” was sampled by A$AP Rocky and Lil Nas X, the latter of whom [faced a $25 million lawsuit](https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/lil-nas-x-sony-music-lawsuit-carry-on-sample-bobby-caldwell-8523927/) filed by Caldwell over [the internet-only track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ5q3NHsSjo). I am forever heartbroken.

Bobby Caldwell, the singer-songwriter who mastered a range of genres, died Tuesday, his wife Mary said.

Caldwell's ability to tap into multiple genres, including jazz and R&B, has given his catalog longevity. His parents were also singers who hosted a musical variety show, Warning labels were also updated in 2013 to include potentially irreversible nerve damage from the drug.

“I held him tight in my arms as he left us,” she wrote. “I am forever heartbroken. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years.”.

He grew up listening to show tunes, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and The Beatles, all of which were early influences in his singing and songwriting, I held him tight in my arms as he left us. He had been "FLOXED," it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. In a statement posted Wednesday on social media, Mary Caldwell said he had been dealing with health issues in recent years. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years. “I am forever heartbroken.

The soulful singer known for his 1978 hit What You Won't Do for Love died after a long illness, according to a statement from his wife.

He received his big break as a rhythm guitarist for Little Richard in the early 1970s, and signed with TK Records, a label primarily known for Black artists, in 1978. Other artists including Common, The Notorious BIG and John Legend have sampled his music. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years,” she

R&B singer Bobby Caldwell, who had a major hit in 1978 with “What You Won't Do for Love," has died.

In the mid '70s, Caldwell played in various bar bands in Los Angeles before landing a solo record deal. “You are such an inspiration to me and many others,” Chance told him. 6 on what was then called the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart. His song “Open Your Eyes” from “Cat in The Hat” was covered by John Legend and sampled by Common on his Grammy-nominated 2000 single “The Light.” Caldwell would never have a hit that came close in prominence to “What You Won't Do for Love,” but he released several respected albums, including 1980s “Cat in The Hat” — on which he appeared prominently on the cover wearing a fedora — and 1982's “Carry On,” on which he was his own producer and played all the instruments. He was 71.

His much-covered 1978 hit “What You Won't Do for Love” launched him on a prolific career that spanned decades and genres.

He added that R&B radio “is not what it was” in his early days, but that rappers were branching into what he called “adult urban, which is more of the R&B that you and I cut our teeth on.” Rolling Stone called the album “2015’s smartest [retro-soul revival](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/cool-uncle-inside-2015s-smartest-retro-soul-revival-33862/).” He soon moved to Las Vegas, where he performed with a group called [Katmandu](https://www.discogs.com/master/338104-Katmandu-Katmandu) that cut an album in 1971. [star faded ](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-06-ca-457-story.html)later in the ’80s, he continued to record and perform for decades. [show business baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoqjfsfhVy8),” he said in a recent video interview. “This business is constantly in a In 2020, Billboard included the song on a list of the [25 greatest love songs](https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-love-song-duets-8550707/). He spent the next several years trying to make a name for himself, playing in bars and recording demos. 1](https://www.billboard.com/artist/peter-cetera/) on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. “Apparently he bet a lot of money that I was Black, and he was wrong.” His parents, Bob and Carolyn Caldwell, were entertainers who hosted two early television variety shows, “42nd Street Review” in New York and “Suppertime” in Pittsburgh, before moving the family to Miami. 15, 1951, in Manhattan and spent much of his youth in Miami.

Questlove leads tributes to the R&B singer, who his family says died after years of battling illness.

By 1978, he had launched a solo career and released the hit single that propelled him to fame. In the early 1970s he began playing as a guitarist for Little Richard. "Caldwell was the closing chapter in a generation in which record execs wanted to hide faces on album covers so perhaps maybe their artist could have a chance," he wrote. Questlove sampled Caldwell's Open Your Eyes for a collaboration with Common to produce the song, The Light. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. You may want to read

Via Twitter, Caldwell's wife, Mary Caldwell, announced his death, revealing he died at home. "Bobby passed away here at home. I held him tight in my arms as he ...

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"Bobby passed away here at home. I held him tight in my arms as he left us," wrote his wife, Mary, on his official Twitter account.

"Thank you for your voice and gift." "Man such a missed opportunity to meet a legend." Caldwell's song "Next Time I Fall," which was recorded by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant, reached No. He had been "FLOXED," it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. It has been covered by Boys II Men, Natalie Cole and Michael Bolton, among others, in addition to being sampled by legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the year of its release.

Bobby Caldwell's smooth soul jam "What You Won't Do for Love" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became a long-term standard and career-defining hit ...

A multi-instrumentalist, he began performing professionally at 17, and got his break playing guitar in Little Richard's band in the early 1970s. In the mid '70s, Caldwell played in various bar bands in Los Angeles before landing a solo record deal. "You are such an inspiration to me and many others," Chance told him. His song "Open Your Eyes" from "Cat in The Hat" was covered by John Legend and sampled by Common on his Grammy-nominated 2000 single "The Light." 6 on what was then called the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart. He was 71.