FILE - Bobby Caldwell performs onstage at the 2013 Soul Train Awards at the Orleans Arena on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Invision/AP, File)
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 “What You Won’t Do For Love,” has died.
Caldwell’s wife Mary Caldwell told The Associated Press that he died in her arms at their home in Great Meadows, New Jersey, on Tuesday. He was 71.
“What You Won’t Do For Love” went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a long-term soul standard and career-defining hit for Caldwell, who also wrote the song.
His music was frequently sampled in the songs of hip-hop artists, including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Common.
Born in New York and raised in Miami, Caldwell got his professional break playing guitar in Little Richard’s band in the early 1970s, eventually going solo.
