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Bobby Caldwell
Singer/songwriter dead at 71
3/15/2023 7:14 AM PT
Singer Bobby Caldwellknown for his smooth blue-eyed soulful voice, has died after battling illness for several years … TMZ has confirmed.
Bobby, whose biggest hit is the classic “What You Won’t Do for Love,” died in his sleep Tuesday night at his home in New Jersey, according to his rep.
The singer/songwriter had been unable to walk for about 5 years as he dealt with painful bouts of neuropathy and a torn tendon in his ankle. Last year, his team revealed that Bobby had a bad reaction to a prescribed antibiotic in 2017 – they say it caused his Achilles tendon to rupture, leading to the neuropathy.
Caldwell dropped his signature hit in 1978 … when it reached the top 10 on Billboard and made his self-titled debut album go double platinum.
If you’re of a certain age, you know every line of ‘Do for Love,’ and the song is so enduring that you hear someone sing it almost every season on “American Idol” and “The Voice.”
It has also been covered by countless artists – including Boyz II Men, Snoh Aalegra and Michael Bolton — and Tupac Shakur heavily sampled it for his song “Do For Love”.
Bobby also wrote songs for people like Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Roberta Flack and Boz Scaggs. He even wrote the 1986 #1 hit “The Next Time I Fall” for Amy Grant and Peter Cetera.
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