• Singer & songwriter Bobby Caldwell dies at 71.
• He passed away in Mary Caldwell’s arms at their home in Great Meadows, New Jersey.
• Caldwell was born in New York and raised in Miami.

Bobby Caldwell, a deep R&B vocalist and musician who had a significant hit in 1978 with “How You Won’t Help Love” and a voice and melodic style revered by ages of his kindred craftsmen, has passed on, his better half said Wednesday.

After a lengthy illness, he passed away in Mary Caldwell‘s arms on Tuesday at their home in Great Meadows, New Jersey, according to The Associated Press. He was 71.

“What You Won’t Do for Love,” a smooth soul jam, reached No. 9 and No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. 6 on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart at the time. Caldwell, who also wrote the song, had a career-defining hit and a long-term standard.

Boyz II Men and Michael Bolton covered the song, and Tupac Shakur sampled it on his posthumously released song, “Do For Love.”

Other Caldwell tunes were inspected by hip-jump craftsmen including The Infamous B.I.G., Normal, Lil Nas X and Chance the Rapper.

Stories flourish, large numbers of them shared via online entertainment after his demise, of audience members being astounded to discover that Caldwell was white and not Dark.

On Caldwell’s self-titled debut solo album, which features “What You Won’t Do for Love,” he only made a silhouette appearance.

Questlove wrote on Instagram, “Caldwell was the closing chapter in a generation in which record execs wanted to hide faces on album covers so maybe maybe their artist could have a chance.”

Questlove wrote, “Thank you for your voice and gift #BobbyCaldwell.”

On Instagram, Chance the Rapper posted a screenshot of a direct message conversation he had with Caldwell last year when he asked for permission to use his music.

Caldwell wrote, “I’ll be honored if you sample my song.”

Chance told him, “You are such an inspiration to me and many others.” In the post, he stated that he had “not felt broken like this at a stranger’s passing in so long” and had never been acknowledged for sampling a song.

Caldwell was born in New York and raised in Miami. His parents were singers who hosted the musical variety television show “Suppertime.” He started performing professionally at the age of 17 and plays multiple instruments. In the early 1970s, he got his start playing guitar in Little Richard’s band. Before signing a solo record deal, Caldwell played in various Los Angeles bar bands in the middle of the 1970s.

Caldwell never had a hit like “What You Won’t Do for Love,” but he did make several well-known albums, like “Cat in the Hat” from 1980, on which he was prominently featured on the cover wearing a fedora, and “Carry On” from 1982, on which he was the producer and played all the instruments.

John Legend covered and sampled Common’s “Cat in the Hat” song “Open Your Eyes” on his Grammy-nominated 2000 single “The Light.”

During the 1990s, Caldwell moved to recording and performing American norms, including tunes made well known by Honest Sinatra and Nat Ruler Cole, he adored in his childhood.

Caldwell is survived by his daughters Lauren and Tessa, as well as his stepdaughter Katie, in addition to Mary, his wife of 19 years.

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