Frederick Craig McFarlane (November 14, 1959 – September 3, 2016) was an American R&B

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, record producer and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

. McFarlane's career as a songwriter and producer spanned more than 30 years. He wrote or co-wrote a number of R&B and dance hits including

Jenny Burton Jenny Burton (born November 18, 1957, New York City, New York) is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singing, singer who had several hits on the United States, US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' dance Record chart, chart. Career She was lea ...

's " Bad Habits" in 1985;

Robin S. Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...

' 1993 debut single " Show Me Love" which he co-wrote with Allen George; and

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

's "

Don't Wanna Go Home "Don't Wanna Go Home" is a song by American recording artist Jason Derulo, released as the lead single from his second studio album, ''Future History'', on May 23, 2011. The song was written by Derulo, Chaz Mishan, David Delazyn, William Attaway, ...

". McFarlane began his professional career as a

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, supporting such artists as

Crown Heights Affair Crown Heights Affair are an American R&B / funk / disco group from Brooklyn, New York City, founded in 1967. Career Originally known as Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express on Britne Records, founded by then- bassist Donnie Linton, the grou ...

and Enchantment. He transitioned to producing during the 1980s. Among the songs he produced was Jocelyn Brown's 1984 hit " Somebody Else's Guy". McFarlane also penned songs for dozens of other artists, including

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. Biography Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, ...

Force MDs The Force M.D.'s are an American contemporary R&B, R&B vocal group that was formed in 1981 in Staten Island, New York. Although the group has old school hip hop roots, it is perhaps best known for two tunes that are widely considered 1980s quiet ...

Evelyn "Champagne" King Evelyn "Champagne" King (born July 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her hit disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from ...

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. McFarlane died in early September 2016. A cause of death was not released at the time.

References

External links

* 1959 births 2016 deaths American male songwriters African-American songwriters American record producers American multi-instrumentalists 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people {{US-record-producer-stub