'What You Won't Do For Love' Singer Bobby Caldwell Dead at 71
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Singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell, who was best known for his smooth jazz hit "What You Won't Do For Love," has died. He was 71.
Caldwell died on Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, his wife Mary Caldwell confirmed on Twitter. TMZ was first to report the news.
"I held him tight in my arms as he left us. I am forever heartbroken. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years," she wrote. "Rest with God, my love."
Mary wrote that she believed her husband had been "floxed," a term used by some to describe rare but painful side effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, according to The Atlantic.
Caldwell was known for his blue-eyed soul, and "What You Won't Do For Love," which appeared on his eponymous debut album in 1978, cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
The song went on to be a classic, and was covered by artists including Boyz II Men, Michael Bolton and Natalie Cole and Peabo Bryson. It was also famously sampled by Tupac Shakur on his posthumous 1998 hit "Do for Love."
Bobby passed away here at home. I held him tight in my arms as he left us. I am forever heartbroken. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years. He had been "FLOXED," it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. Rest with God, my Love. -Mary Caldwell
— Bobby Caldwell (@bobbycaldwell) March 15, 2023
Caldwell was born in Manhattan and raised in Miami in a showbiz family. Both of his parents were singers, and hosted Suppertime, one of TV's first musical variety programs, according to his website.
He was raised on the music of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and the Beatles, and started his own career as a rhythm guitarist for Little Richard in the early 1970s, according to theLos Angeles Times.
Caldwell's first tour was opening for Natalie Cole, and in a 2005 interview with NPR, he recalled the audience's surprise at discovering he was White, as his soulful vocals suggested otherwise.
"I was very surprised at seeing nothing but Black [people] in the audience. And certainly they were probably more surprised than I was!" he said. "Most of the wonderful people I've gotten to know in the radio business, they all say the same thing. It's like a universal language, and should have no barriers."
In the aftermath of "What You Won't Do For Love," Caldwell began writing for other artists at the suggestion of his friend Boz Skaggs, and ended up penning hits like "The Next Time I Fall" for stars like Amy Grant and Peter Cetera.
"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. "I like doing that, but I don't want to do it for the rest of my life because there is a part of me that loves to perform."
Caldwell, who lived with his wife and daughter on a horse farm in New Jersey, released more than a dozen albums, and he put out his final record, Cool Uncle, in 2015.