When I received an email from Bobby’s manager Jack White wanting to set up an interview I was more than happy to do it. Through out Caldwell’s replies I couldn’t help but notice how humble and down to earth he was. He is literally a super star in the music world and one of the few blue-eyed soul singers to hit the black audience on a large scale, with hits like “My Flame” and “What You Won’t Do For Love”. ‘I went on the road at age 17, so I guess I am approaching the 37 year mark, as a performer, “What You Won’t Do For Love” in 1978. I feel lucky to be doing what I love to do’. Those two hits took Bobby Caldwell’s music career to the next level; his songs and samples have contributed to over 40 million sales, Roberta Flack, Vanessa Williams, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur have all paid tributes and US rapper Common was nominated a Grammy when he sampled “Open Your Eyes” in his song “The Light”. ‘Whenever somebody thinks enough of your music to incorporate it into their own, I consider it to be the ultimate form of flattery’. He continues ‘I was 26 years old, when I recorded this first album in Miami, Florida. Just having a recording artist contract made me feel great! Believe it or not, I had the album finished, at least I thought it was finished, but it didn’t include “What You Won’t Do For Love”.

I had my eye on “My Flame” as the single. The head of the record company sent me back in the studio, and 48 hours later “What You Won’t Do For Love” was born. What can I say; I’m glad he sent me back to the studio!’ I wanted to know if he was given any vocal training as a child or if his talent came naturally, he says ‘I was singing since I was a toddler. As a child, I was given piano lessons, but I was a bit resistant to anything structured. I got my first guitar at age 12, and spent countless hours learning the guitar fundamentals of James Brown records’, this lead to the question of who were Bobby Caldwell’s main influences? ‘As a child, and still to this day, I am a huge fan of The Beatles, Frank Sinatara, and Ella Fitzgerald. My parents were in show business. Both my Mom and Dad were singers. Our house was always filled with parties by the piano and the tunes of Cole Porter, Sammy Cahn, and Gershwin…the greats. My debut song at age 4 was ‘Zippity Do Da’. Later on I became influenced by the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Hendrix, Steely Dan, Earth Wind and Fire… my musical taste runs the gamut’, and so does Bobby’s sound, he fuses jazz, R&B, soul, jazz, all with his ballad/sultry vocal technique on top. His records have been on major motion picture and television credits, which brought his music to wider audiences. “The Girl I Dream About” was recently chosen for Hillary Duff’s upcoming film “The Perfect Man”. He just continues to make these out standing songs; he has the key to longevity, and obviously a strong talent in music making/writing and singing, since an early age but what was it like for him in the recording studio? ‘My sessions in the studio can vary. At times I find myself there at odd hours of the day. With 3 teenage daughters, a wife, a mother-in-law and a stable of horses, it sometimes becomes difficult to find true isolation. Usually, I’ll play around with a number of tunes. The ones I keep coming back to are the ones I cultivate. In some instances I’ll sit down and write the song and the lyric in a single effort. There is no exact formula to my song writing. However, the “love” theme seems to always call me back’. Bobby Caldwell has had major success in his career, forming fans from around the world, and experiencing things only some can dream about. What was the highlight of Bobby Caldwell’s career, he replied ‘the highlight of my career has always been to play to sold out audiences, and thankfully, continues to be. While I’m not sure that there has been a terribly low point, I would have to observe the issue of downloading, and the new technology, as a new challenge.’ This is a very serious issue in today’s music industry and for many artists. Trying to stop people downloading music is the most difficult thing to do, as everyone seems to be doing it. It’s the same as a person walking into HMV and taking a CD, walking out the shop and getting away with it, but because it’s in the comfort of their own home, there’s no security, or people stopping these people harming the music industry and artists work. Anyway, I wanted to find out how it felt when he reached a large black audience, during a particular bad patch of racism in the 70’s in America, he says ‘The audience is the best aspect of what I do for a living. The audience usually consists of an eclectic group of people, and I am truly honored to have such a diverse audience at every show.’ For me the audience has always been 50% of the equation, or better. When you have a ready and willing audience, it makes a performer’s work that much easier’, great performers like Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Peabo Bryson, etc, all have toured the world and filled stadiums, as well as Bobby Caldwell, and it’s just amazing to know that fans still appreciate his work to this day, allowing him to keep living the legacy. He has worked with/for many other acts (songwriting/singing) such as Boz Scaggs, Peter Cetera, Amy Grant, Neil Diamond and Al Jarreau to name a few, this is what Bobby Caldwell says about collaborating and who he enjoys collaborating with ‘Anybody who came to the table with fresh ideas. Be it songwriters or artists’. Leaving the discussion with the legend that Bobby Caldwell is, I asked him what tips could he give to young hopefuls like myself and many others trying to make it in this tough music business, replies in his casual style ‘learn the business first, and that acquired knowledge will enable you to pursue your art’, over all I have been impressed with the level headedness that he has, considering all the glitz of his musical career. Let’s just hope Bobby Caldwell does what he says and continues feeding the listener with soulful classics.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]

This blue-eyed soul singer is known by many fans for the song ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’, which was the first song recorded by a white soul singer to reach the black audience in the masses. However, that was almost 30 years ago, and ‘Perfect Island Nights’ is the latest you’ll hear from Bobby. He offers a professional and polished smooth jazz album, with a few ballads like ‘Crazy For Your Love’, ‘Where Is The Love’ feat Deniece Williams, ‘I Need Your Love’ and more. The man has a lot of class to his voice, which makes his sound that more captivating. Bobby Caldwell and Richard McIntosh produced this album, it is very impressive and you will not be disappointed. It’s Popular music with a difference, it emerges R&B, classic soul with a strong focus on vocals. It starts off with a song called ‘In The Afterlife’, which talks about love becoming so intense that it can “go on in the afterlife”. ‘Can I Get Over You’ is another Bobby Caldwell classic, with the typical ballad/old school production, similar to tracks like ‘My Flame’, which was a previous hit for this legendary singer. I wouldn’t pigeonhole this album as straight jazz, because it’s too smooth for that. The title track is my favourite, with its samba like vibe, ‘Perfect Island Night’. The laidback feel to this album is enjoyable, expect a lot of love songs but also songs to just chill too. ‘Rain’ has good production, as do most of the tracks from this superb album. ‘Sukiyaki (Forever)’, is an unusual track, but concentrates on love. All tracks apart from the duet are four minutes long, all with a chilled out, smooth jazz quality, with tinges of pop and samba. ‘Our Day Will Come’ is also a nice track, so over all ‘Perfect Island Night’ is another hit for all the Bobby Caldwell fans out there.

Matthew Daniel [Just Soul]