Bobby Caldwell "What You Won't Do for Love" video.

Bobby Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who, despite a prolific musical output over his more than 25-year career, is still best known for his 1978 hit single "What You Won't Do for Love." While he has always maintained a devoted fan base in the United States, a more legendary status has been bestowed upon him in Japan.

Bobby Caldwell was born in Manhattan, New York City to Bob and Carolyn Caldwell, the hosts of Suppertime, an early television variety show. Living in Memphis and, chiefly, Miami (which he has called an influential "dumping ground" for all kinds of music), he took up piano and guitar as a preteen. Forming his own band at 17, he took the group on the road, later recording an album entitled Kathmandu.

Caldwell's first performances were more rock-oriented than the bulk of his career would indicate; early dates had him playing Jimi Hendrix and Cream covers in small clubs.

Ten years later, Bobby Caldwell recorded his double platinum-attaining self-titled solo album, scoring hits with the singles "What You Won't Do for Love", "My Flame" and, in Britain, "Down for the Third Time". In order to ensure significant airplay on the African American-dominated R&B radio format of the time, Caldwell's management took certain steps—such as portraying the artist only in silhouette on the cover and in advertisements—to hide the fact that he was white. The secret was, for obvious reasons, shattered by his first live appearances.

After the tracks were first recorded and the record was considered "complete," the head of the label said that he enjoyed the album but couldn't hear a hit. Attempting to address this issue, Caldwell and his band re-entered the studio, laying down the song's now-familiar rhythm tracks. After he quickly penned a set of lyrics, "What You Won't Do for Love" was born.

"What You Won't Do for Love" in its novelty vinyl incarnation. Reaching the top ten on both the pop and R&B charts, the song proved to be a success, though a bit of a surprise due to the fact that Bobby Caldwell assumed "My Flame", the LP's second track ("What You Won't Do for Love" is the sixth), would wind up as the standout single. The album which contained it was later re-released under the song's title. The single was also marketed in the form of a distinctive red heart-shaped 45-RPM vinyl record (advertised as "the single that gets to the heart of the matter"). "The What You Won't Do for Love" album also received a novelty release on yellow vinyl.

While the original song still receives frequent airplay today, it has been covered, re-made (once, in 1998, by Bobby Caldwell himself) and sampled many times since 1978.

Bobby Caldwell "What You Won't Do for Love" from the album "What You Won't Do for Love" (1978).