Award-winning songwriter and multi-platinum A&R Jon Lind has died at the age of 73 after a two-year battle with cancer. Lind’s catalog of hit songs includes timeless classics such as 1992 ASCAP Song of the Year “Save the Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams; “Boogie Wonderland” and “Sun Goddess” by Earth, Wind & Fire; and “Crazy for You” by Madonna. Both “Save the Best for Last” and “Crazy for You” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Save the Best for Last” was the biggest success of Vanessa Williams’s career and, in addition to being named ASCAP Song of the Year, earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 1993.

A native New Yorker born in Brooklyn, Jon studied classical guitar at the Mannes College of Music and attended Amherst College. Lind got his start as a folksinger in the late 1960s, opening for artists like Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and Harry Chapin as a teenager. In the late 1970s, he achieved success as a hit songwriter writing for other artists including Earth, Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis, Deniece Williams, Atlantic Starr, Betty Wright and more. He continued writing throughout the '80s, penning hits for the likes of Madonna, Cher, Cheap Trick, Aaron Neville, Mica Paris, The Emotions, Jennifer Holliday, and Rick Astley, among others. In 1998, his mentor, Bob Cavallo, brought Lind to Hollywood Records as head of A&R, where he worked for 13 years and had multi-platinum success in developing the careers of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Jesse McCartney.  

The songwriting community lost a great songwriter and a beautiful soul in Jon Lind, who leaves a legacy of iconic songs both as a songwriter and supremely talented A&R executive. The ASCAP family mourns his loss but his humor, his music and his wonderfully generous spirit live in our hearts.

Lind is survived by his wife, former ASCAP head of membership and music executive Sue Drew; his daughters Jenny and Joanna; stepchildren Daniel D’Astuges and Catherine Jones; and three grandchildren.