Jonathan Gus Lind (April 14, 1948 – January 15, 2022), professionally known as Jon Lind, was an American songwriter, performer and A&R Executive

Biography

Lind was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on April 14, 1948, and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He studied

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

at the Mannes College of Music. His first break was in the 1970s where he worked with

Bob Cavallo Bob Cavallo is an American entertainment manager, producer, and business owner. Cavallo worked for Walt Disney Studios from 1998 through 2011, during which time he reorganized the company's recorded music, music publishing and concert operations ...

. At this period he met producer

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

who recorded his songs with

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

and Earth, Wind and Fire. He was also a member of the band

Howdy Moon ''Howdy Moon'' was the sole album by the band Howdy Moon, released in 1974. The band included Valerie Carter, Richard Hovey and Jon Lind. The trio of friends moved to Los Angeles where they were signed by A&M Records and played at The Troubadour. ...

and The Fifth Avenue Band. He wrote songs for soulful artists such as

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 ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as '' Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

, D.J. Rogers, Atlantic Starr and

. In 1984, Lind signed with

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. He was a Senior Vice President of A&R at

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records ...

. Lind died from cancer on January 15, 2022, at the age of 73.

Song selection

- "Cheyenne Autumn" and "Mill Stream" (Co-written with Francine Tacker) *

& Earth, Wind and Fire - "Sun Goddess" (Co-written with Earth, Wind & Fire's

) * Earth, Wind and Fire with

- " Boogie Wonderland" (Co-written with Allee Willis) *

- " Crazy for You" (Co-written with John Bettis;

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

#1) *

- " Skin Deep" (Co-written with Mark Goldenberg) *

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen a ...

- " No Mercy" (Co-written with Jim Scott) * Cher - " Kiss to Kiss" (Co-written with Mary D'astugues and Phil Galdston) and "All Because of You" (Co-written with Sue Schifrin) *

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

- "Big Fun (Harry Crumb)" (Co-written with Galdston and

David Was David Jay Weiss, known as David Was, is an American musician, music producer and journalist. With his stage-brother Don Was, he was the founder of the 1980s pop group Was (Not Was). Career Was was born in Detroit, Michigan to a Jewish family. ...

) * Jon Lind - "I'm Gonna' Be the One" (Co-written with

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced so ...

) * Gene Miller - "Can't Believe My Eyes" (Co-written with Bettis) *

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

- " Save the Best for Last" (Co-written with

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner ...

and Phil Galdston; Billboard Hot 100 #1) *

Mica Paris Michelle Antoinette Wallen (born 27 April 1969), known professionally as Mica Paris (), is an English singer, presenter and actress. Paris was born in Islington in North London, but moved to Brockley, South London, when she was nine. She rel ...

- "

Whisper a Prayer ''Whisper a Prayer'' is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Mica Paris. It was released on 8 June 1993 by 4th & B'way Records, her last for the label. Recording sessions for the album commenced in the spring of 1992 and concluded ...

" (Co-written with Waldman and Galdston) * Vanessa Williams - "

The Sweetest Days ''The Sweetest Days'' is the third studio album by American singer Vanessa Williams, released on December 6, 1994, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. The album peaked at number 57 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and at number 25 on the Top R&B/Hip ...

" (Co-written with Waldman and Galdston) *

BBMak BBMak are an English band consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally. Formed in Liverpool in 1996, they sold over three million albums worldwide between 1999 and 2003. The band first achieved success when their single "Back H ...

- " Ghost of You and Me" (Co-written with Mr. Mister's

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

) *

Warren Wiebe Warren Wiebe (July 18, 1953 – October 25, 1998) was an American vocalist and session artist from San Diego. Career After playing bass with several bands, Warren Wiebe was discovered by David Foster and Burt Bacharach in Los Angeles in 1987 ...

- "I Believe in Us" (Co-written with Waldman and Galdston) *

Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show ''Star Tanjō!''. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was relea ...

- "Heartbreak" , "Femme Fatale" from the studio album ''Femme Fatale'' ( Oricon Albums Chart #1)

Discography

The Fifth Avenue Band

*''The Fifth Avenue Band'' (Reprise 6369 - 1969) ;Side 1 # "Fast Freight" (Peter Gallway) # "One Way Or The Other" (Kenny Altman) # "Good Lady Of Toronto" (Peter Gallway) # "Eden Rock" (Kenny Altman - Peter Gallway) # "Country Time Rhymes" (Peter Gallway) # "Calamity Jane" (Peter Gallway) ;Side 2 # "Nice Folks" (Kenny Altman) # "Cockeyed Shame" (Peter Gallway) # "Faithful Be Fair" (Kenny Altman) # "In Hollywood" (Peter Gallway) # "Angel" (Jon Lind) *''The Fifth Avenue Band - Really'' (Pony Canyon, Japan, 1990)

Howdy Moon

*''

'' (A&M 1974)

White Horse

*''White Horse'' (Capitol 1977)

References

External links

* * 1948 births 2022 deaths Musicians from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) {{US-music-bio-stub