'70s Crooner Who Wrote 'What You Won't Do For Love' Dies at 71

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

'I held him tight in my arms as he left us,' his wife announced.

Singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell, best known for 1978 soul ballad "What You Won't Do For Love," has died after dealing with a long illness. He was 71.

The jazz crooner passed away on Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, his wife Mary Caldwell confirmed on Twitter this morning.

"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 divulged that she believes her husband had been "floxed," a term used to describe rare but painful side effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, per The Atlantic.

Soul seemingly ran through the artist's veins, as his debut album mega-hit "What You Won't Do For Love" hit the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and has since transcended generations.

The classic smash has been sampled and covered countless times by the likes of Boyz II Men, Michael Bolton, Natalie ColeTupac Shakur, and most recently, Snoh Aalegra with her now-viral version of the tune, "Do 4 Love," which was released in 2021.

Manhattan-born but Miami-raised, music was a right of passage for Caldwell, as both of his parents were also singers, hosting Suppertime, one of TV's first musical variety programs.

His childhood was set to the tracks of notable legends such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and the Beatles, and he started his own career as a rhythm guitarist for Little Richard in the early 1970s.

Caldwell's first tour was an opening gig for Natalie Cole, and in a 2005 interview with NPR, he recalled the audience's surprise at discovering he was a white man, 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."

After seeing immense success with "What You Won't Do For Love," Caldwell began penning for other artists, creating hits like "The Next Time I Fall" for stars such as 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."

Over the span of his career, he released over a dozen albums, which included such classics as "Open Your Eyes," "My Flame," "Real Thing," "Heart of Mine," and "Coming Down From Love."

The legendary musician was spotlighted in the "blue-eyed soul" segment of the Soul Train Awards in 2013, where he gave a riveting performance during the tribute. He sent his final record, Cool Uncle, out into the world in 2015.

In 2021, Bobby's family asked the public for prayers after divulging the music industry veteran had suffered an unknown injury that forced him to cancel his concerts for the remainder of that year.

Before his passing, Caldwell lived with his wife and daughter on a horse farm in NJ.