Behind the Music: What You Won't Do For Love

 Singer Bobby Caldwell, famous for the song "What You Won't Do For Love",  died on March 14th, 2023 in the arms of his wife, at the age of 71. My first introduction to him was at the beginning of his career, when a "boyfriend" showed up at my house on Valentine's Day with the red, heart-shaped record that had been pressed especially for this occasion. He played it for me, I liked it, and then I broke up with him a couple of days later. I wish I still had that record now: it's probably worth a lot of money! But I digress...

Mr. Caldwell had that smooth, soulful, R&B crooner voice that I really liked. Where had this guy been hiding? Actually, he hadn't been hiding: he was being hid and there's a difference. He was born in New York but raised in Miami. He started his career playing rhythm guitar for Little Richard before he began his own career in the late '70s. The album cover for his debut album featured a silhouette of a man watching a sunset. You can't see his face. That's because the record label didn't want his race identified in that R&B market, since he was white! To this day, there are still many people who don't know or hadn't realized that he wasn't a black man. Yep: apparently at that time Miami wasn't quite ready for "blue-eyed soul". And to this day some people still believe his voice was dubbed!

Anyway, when he started touring with Natalie Cole he couldn't hide his identity. And he shouldn't have had to. But along with being a singer/songwriter of his own music, he also wrote for other people. He penned the Amy Grant / Peter Cetera song "The Next Time I Fall", among other songs for other singers.

"What You Won't Do For Love" was covered by artists such as Boyz II Men and Michael Bolton.  It was also sampled by Tupac in his song "Do For Love". Other hip-hop artists that sampled his songs included The Notorious B.I.G., Common ("The Light" sampled from the song "Open Your Eyes"), Lil Nas X and Chance the Rapper. John Legend did a cover of "Open Your Eyes" from the sophomore album "Cat In The Hat".

He transitioned into recording and performing American standards in the  1990s, including songs by Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. He released his last album, "Cool Uncle", in 2015. 

As per Regenerative Medicine LA, his health had declined after suffering severe side effects from consuming a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Such a shame...

Although Bobby Caldwell will be missed, thankfully his music will live on.