"What You Won't Do for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

. It was released in September 1978 as the lead single from his eponymous debut album. It was written by Caldwell and Alfons Kettner, and produced by Ann Holloway. The song has been

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and

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numerous times, including by

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

in the posthumous 1998 hit " Do for Love".

Background and release

After gaining a reputation in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

clubs as a talented musician, Caldwell was signed to an exclusive contract with TK Records in 1978 by TK Records president Henry Stone. Heading to the studio, Caldwell recorded his first album, which was given a redo after Stone felt the album was good but "didn't have a hit". Caldwell returned to the studio and came up with the final product, which included "What You Won't Do for Love". The song's horn arrangement was written and recorded by Miami arranger Mike Lewis. The song is in the key of F-sharp minor (although the pitch of the commercial track is slightly flat - i.e. below concert pitch - perhaps due to tape machine speed variation). Caldwell wanted the song to be the sixth track on the album since he figured his debut album's second track, "My Flame", which featured him playing guitar, would be the hit. However, TK Records felt confident that "What You Won't Do for Love" would be the breakout hit. When it was released to R&B radio, TK Records did their best to hide Caldwell's racial identity, hoping not to alienate their predominantly

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audience. However, when Caldwell began making performances live on stage, demand only increased.

Chart performance

The song would become Caldwell's most successful single and also his signature song, reaching number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 6 on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart, and number 10 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. According to the broadcast of '' American Top 40'' for the week ending February 3, 1979, the week in which the song debuted at No. 38 on the Top 40, a heart-shaped pressing of the single was the most expensive single up to that point. The heart-shaped single was originally released as a promotional item only, but public demand led to 50,000 copies being pressed in time for Valentine's Day 1979 with a retail price of $7.98—about the price of a full LP album at the time.

Reception

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' called it, "Mellow sophisticated soul with a subtle Latin beat from a white American who obviously admires

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. Sounds as if it should be in a

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commercial or the like."

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar *

Benny Latimore Benjamin William Lattimore (born September 7, 1939), known professionally as Latimore, is an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. In 2017, Latimore was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Life and career Latimore was born ...

– keyboards * Alfons Kettner – guitar * Joe Galdo - drums * Steve Mele – guitar

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

Natalie Cole/Peabo Bryson

Performed as a duet on their 1979 album

We're the Best of Friends ''We're the Best of Friends'' is a 1979 duet album by American vocalists Natalie Cole and Peabo Bryson. It was released on November 2, 1979 by Capitol Records. Reception The album reached peak positions of number 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and ...

Roy Ayers

American jazz-funk composer and producer released a version on his 1979 album '' No Stranger to Love''.

Phyllis Hyman

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...

, American singer, songwriter, and actress released her version on her 1986 album "

Living All Alone ''Living All Alone'' is the seventh album by American soul singer-songwriter Phyllis Hyman. It was released by Philadelphia International Records in 1986. The album contains the title track, which peaked at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' R&B singl ...

Charts

Go West

English pop duo Go West recorded a version on their third studio album, ''

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'' (1992), and released it as a single on January 4, 1993.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Victor Wooten

Bassist

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

recorded an instrumental version on his 1997 studio album '' What Did He Say?''.

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

recorded a version on his 1999 covers album '' Timeless: The Classics Vol. 2''.

Boyz II Men

The vocal group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

released a cover of the song on their 2004 album ''

Throwback, Vol. 1 ''Throwback, Vol. 1'' is the seventh studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men, released by Koch Records, and featuring covers of classic R&B songs (hence the album title) from such artists as Teddy Pendergrass, The Isley Brothers and Michael ...

'', featuring rapper

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

Charts

Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, '' Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produc ...

covered the song on her iTunes Gold Special Edition release 2013 album “

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.”

Snoh Aalegra

Snoh Aalegra Snoh Sheri Nowrozi (born Shahrzad Fooladi, 13 September 1987), better known by her stage name, Snoh Aalegra (), is a Swedish singer based in Los Angeles. Her debut album ''Feels'' was released in 2017, followed by ''Ugh, Those Feels Again'' in 2 ...

released a cover of the song under the title "DO 4 LOVE" as a Spotify Single in October 2019.

Commercial use

* The song was featured in a 2014 commercial for the

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Outlander Sport.

References

{{Authority control 1978 debut singles 2004 songs Boyz II Men songs Songs written by Bobby Caldwell Bobby Caldwell songs 1978 songs 1992 singles Go West (band) songs Chrysalis Records singles TK Records singles Blue-eyed soul songs Phyllis Hyman songs Peabo Bryson songs Natalie Cole songs Jessie Ware songs Sampha songs 1970s ballads Soul ballads