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

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

, record producer and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

. 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's " Bad Habits" in 1985;

Robin S. Robin Jackson Maynard (''née'' Stone; born April 27, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1992 debut single " Show Me Love", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as its follow-up, " ...

' 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, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

's " Don't Wanna Go Home". 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 instru ...

, supporting such artists as Crown Heights Affair and Enchantment. He transitioned to producing during the 1980s. Among the songs he produced was

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and dance music, dance singer. She has a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name. Brown sang ...

'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 R&B, soul, neo soul, and jazz singer and songwriter. He has released 22 studio albums. Biography Early life Downing was born and raised to a working-class family in Bedford-Stuy ...

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 their soulful R&B tunes such as "Tender Love," "Lo ...

Evelyn "Champagne" King Evelyn "Champagne" King (born July 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her first hit was disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from the early t ...

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. 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 (song), Make It Last For ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

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

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* 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