Current:Home > FinanceSinger Bobby Caldwell Dead at 71-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Singer Bobby Caldwell Dead at 71
View Date:2025-01-11 10:19:58
The music community is mourning the loss of Bobby Caldwell.
The jazz singer, known for his hit song "What You Won't Do For Love," died March 14 at his home in New Jersey, his wife Mary Caldwell confirmed. He was 71.
"Bobby passed away here at home," Mary's statement, posted to social media March 15, read. "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."
Mary noted that her husband had been 'floxed,' a term that describes rare but painful side effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, according to The Atlantic.
Last year, his team confirmed Bobby suffered a bad reaction to a prescribed antibiotic in 2017.
"It took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months," Mary concluded, "Rest with God, my Love."
According to the songwriter's rep, Bobby hadn't been able to walk for the past five years as he coped with neuropathy and a torn tendon in his ankle.
However, it didn't impact his love of music, a passion that stemmed from his parents who were both singers and hosted Suppertime, one of television's first musical variety shows, according to Bobby's website.
Bobby gained notoriety in 1978 with "What You Won't Do For Love." The tune rose to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was covered by various artists including Boyz II Men, Michael Bolton and Tupac Shakur with his posthumous hit "Do for Love" in 1998.
The record led him to be invited on tour by Natalie Cole as her opening act. A defining career moment he spoke about throughout the years.
"I was very surprised at seeing nothing but Black [people] in the audience," he told NPR in 2005. "And certainly they were probably more surprised than I was! 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."
As for how the show went?
"I walked out on stage and you could hear a pin drop, just a total hush came over the crowd," he continued. "It was like, ‘What the f--k is this?' I stayed and delivered, after about ten minutes, I had them in my pocket. That was the night I became a man, I'll tell ya."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (497)
Related
- What is best start in NBA history? Five teams ahead of Cavaliers' 13-0 record
- '1 in 30 million': Rare orange lobster discovered at restaurant in New York
- Planning a long-haul flight? Here's how to outsmart jet lag
- Search for Maui wildfire victims continues as death toll rises to 114
- Sister Wives’ Madison Brush Details Why She Went “No Contact” With Dad Kody Brown
- Sweltering temperatures bring misery to large portion of central U.S., setting some heat records
- Well, It's Always Nice to Check Out These 20 Secrets About Enchanted
- Red Sox infielder Luis Urías makes history with back-to-back grand slams
- Texas mother sentenced to 50 years for leaving kids in dire conditions as son’s body decomposed
- Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez extends historic hot streak after breaking a 1925 record
Ranking
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- Pilot error caused the fatal hot air balloon crash in New Mexico, NTSB finds. Drug use was a factor
- Tanker believed to hold sanctioned Iran oil begins to be offloaded near Texas despite Tehran threats
- Buccaneers QB John Wolford taken to hospital after suffering neck injury vs. Jets
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- Illegal border crossings rose by 33% in July, fueled by increase along Arizona desert
- How a family’s choice to donate a body for pig kidney research could help change transplants
- Block Island, Rhode Island, welcomed back vacationers Sunday, a day after a fire tore through hotel
Recommendation
-
CFP bracket prediction: SEC adds a fifth team to field while a Big Ten unbeaten falls out
-
No secret weapon: Falcons RB Bijan Robinson might tear up NFL as a rookie
-
FEMA pledges nearly $5.6 million in aid to Maui survivors; agency promises more relief
-
Stella Weaver, lone girl playing in Little League World Series, gets a hit and scores
-
Best fits for Corbin Burnes: 6 teams that could match up with Cy Young winner
-
Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso shot near campus, recovering in hospital
-
Stella Weaver, lone girl playing in Little League World Series, gets a hit and scores
-
Ron Cephas Jones, 'This Is Us' actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66: 'The best of the best'