Bobby Caldwell performs on stage at the 2013 Soul Train Awards at the Orleans Arena on Friday, November 8, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Frank Micelotta/Frank Micelotta/Invision/AP
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Frank Micelotta/Frank Micelotta/Invision/AP
Bobby Caldwell performs on stage at the 2013 Soul Train Awards at the Orleans Arena on Friday, November 8, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Frank Micelotta/Frank Micelotta/Invision/AP
Bobby Caldwell, a soulful R&B singer-songwriter who had a huge hit in 1978 with “What You Won’t Do For Love” and a voice and musical style loved by generations of fellow artists, have died, his wife said Wednesday.
Mary Caldwell told the Associated Press he died in her arms at their home in Great Meadows, New Jersey, on Tuesday, after a long illness. He was 71.
The smooth soul track “What You Won’t Do for Love” peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Best-Selling Soul Singles chart thereafter. It became a lasting and career-defining standard hit for Caldwell, who also wrote the song.
The song has been covered by artists, including Boyz II Men and Michael Bolton, and sampled by Tupac Shakur in the song “Do For Love” which was released posthumously.
Other Caldwell songs that have been sampled by hip-hop artists include The Notorious BIG, Common, Lil Nas X and Chance the Rapper.
There are many stories, many of which were shared on social media after his death, of listeners being surprised to learn that Caldwell was white and not black.
Caldwell only appeared with a silhouette in his debut solo album titled “What You Won’t Do for Love” appeared.
“Caldwell is the closing chapter in a generation where record executives wanted to hide their faces on album covers so that perhaps their artists had a chance,” Questlove said on Instagram.
“Thanks for your voice and gift #BobbyCaldwell,” wrote Questlove.
Chance the Rapper shared a screenshot on Instagram about the direct message exchange he had with Caldwell last year when he asked to use his music.
“I would be honored if you sang my song,” Caldwell wrote.
“You are an inspiration to me and many others,” Chance told him. He said in the post that he had never been thanked for sampling a song before and had “never felt this devastated when a stranger walked by for so long.”
Born in New York and raised in Miami, Caldwell is the son of a singer who hosted a musical variety show called “Suppertime”. A multi-instrumentalist, he began performing professionally at age 17 and began playing guitar in Little Richard’s band in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Caldwell played in many other bar bands. together in Los Angeles before landing a solo recording contract.
Caldwell would never have had a standout hit like “What You Won’t Do for Love,” but he did release a number of respected albums, including 1980s “Cat in The Hat” – in which he featured on the cover in a felt hat — and 1982’s “Carry On,” in which he was his own producer and played all the instruments.
The song “Open Your Eyes” from his “Cat in The Hat” was covered by John Legend and sampled by Common on his 2000 Grammy-nominated single “The Light”.
In the 1990s, Caldwell turned to recording and performing to American standards, including hit songs by Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole that he loved in his youth.
In addition to his wife Mary of 19 years, Caldwell is survived by daughters Lauren and Tessa and stepdaughter Katie.
