Joel Dorn's Heart No Longer Strumming His Pain. It Killed Him Softly

Now I have to be telling his whole life with my words. Let me summarize him thusly:

I heard he sang a good song,
I heard he had a style,
And so I came to see him and listen for a while...
I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd,
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud,
I pray that he would finish
But he just kept right on

That was Joel Dorn. He always just kept right on. Until Monday, that is. On Monday, Joel Dorn, the Grammy-winning producer of such hits as "Killing me Softly," died of a heart attack. Dorn worked with such luminaries as Roberta Flack, Max Roach and the Neville Brothers. He put his touch on the album of so many artists:

In the pop field, he helped set Bette Midler and Flack on the course to stardom, producing their debut albums. He and Flack won consecutive record of the year Grammys, for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song." He also ventured into rock with the Allman Brothers Band's second release, 1970's "Idlewild South," and Don McLean's 1974 album, "Homeless Brother."

One can't help but wonder if Dorn's heart would have been in better shape had Lou Brown succeeded in getting Dorn to do calisthenics, despite his contract.

[Washington Post]