Bobby Caldwell

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 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.

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

Caldwell was best known for his 1978 hit 'What You Won't Do for Love' which reached the top 10 on Billboard and made his self-titled debut album go double ...

Sampha and I covered ‘What You Won’t Do for Love’ and I was lucky enough to be invited to sing on his last record. Last year, it was revealed that Caldwell had a bad reaction to a prescribed antibiotic in 2017. He had been “floxed,” it took his health over the last six years and two months.

His music was frequently sampled in the songs of hip-hop artists, including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Common.

He had been "FLOXED," it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. I held him tight in my arms as he left us. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years.

Bobby Caldwell, the soulful singer and songwriter behind R&B hits like "What You Won't Do For Love" and "Open Your Eyes," has died, according to a statement ...

It’s like a universal language, and should have no barriers,” Caldwell said of music in a 2005 interview with Other fans of Caldwell shared memories on social media, with one musician writing, “Thank you for sharing Bobby with us and the rest of the world, which brought to it so much joy and beauty. “Thank you for your voice and gift,

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

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, N.J. — (AP) — Bobby Caldwell, a singer of R&B, soul, adult contemporary and American standard music who had a major hit in 1978 with ...

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 music was frequently sampled in the songs of hip-hop artists, including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Common.

What You Won’t Do For Love went to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a long-term soul standard and career-defining hit for Caldwell, who also wrote the song. Bobby Caldwell, a singer of R&B, soul, adult contemporary and American standard music who had a major hit in 1978 with What You Won’t Do For Love, has died aged 71. What You Won’t Do For Love singer Bobby Caldwell dies aged 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.

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.