Bobby Caldwell

Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. Tragically passing away in March 2023 at the too young age of 71, it still feels as if Bobby's true artistry is profoundly under-appreciated.

His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Yes, it's perfect, yet it's been out of press on vinyl for years.

𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙤𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨 "𝙈𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖", 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙮 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 "𝙈𝙧 𝘼𝙊𝙍" 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙁𝙖𝙧-𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡, 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.

He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.