Linda Creed  

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Linda Creed (1948 – 1986) was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.

Contents

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Career

Born in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia in December 1948, Creed was active in music at Germantown High School. After graduation, Creed decided against college and devoted her energies to writing and producing music. Her career was launched in 1970 when singer Dusty Springfield recorded her song "Free Girl". That same year, Creed teamed with Bell, a staff writer, producer, and arranger at Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's record label Philadelphia International Records.

Their first songwriting collaboration, "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", became a Top 40 pop hit for the Stylistics, beginning an extended collaboration that also yielded the group's most successful recordings, including "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "Break Up to Make Up", "People Make the World Go Round", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "I'm Stone in Love with You" (the latter with Thom Bell). Creed and Bell also paired on a number of hits for the Spinners, including "Ghetto Child", "I'm Coming Home", "Living a Little, Laughing a Little", and "The Rubberband Man". Linda Creed also worked with fellow Pennsylvania native Phyllis Hyman on many of her songs, most notably "Old Friend".

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Death

Though diagnosed with breast cancer at 26, Creed kept on working, teaming with composer Michael Masser and writing the lyrics to the song "The Greatest Love of All", the main theme of the film The Greatest, a biopic of the great boxer Muhammad Ali, launched in 1977. The song was originally recorded by George Benson and released as a single in 1977, becoming a big hit, peaked at #2 on the R&B chart. The lyrics of the song were written in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives. In December 1984, the song was recorded by Whitney Houston for her 1985 self-titled debut album and it would top the charts in May 1986. Weeks before Houston reached number one, Creed died of breast cancer on April 10, 1986, at the age of 37. She was survived by her husband, Stephen "Eppy" Epstein, a longtime music promoter around Philadelphia, and their two daughters, Roni Lee and Dana Creed.

The following year, her family and friends established the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Organization in her honor, and it serves women in Pennsylvania and the surrounding counties.

In 1992, she was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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Selcted songwriting credits

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Linking in as of 2022

1019 I Can Concert, 1977 in music, 1980 (song), 20 Golden Greats (Diana Ross album), 20/20 (George Benson album), 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Michael Jackson, 4 Play (Cold Sweat album), 98 Degrees (album), A Brand New Me (Dusty Springfield album), A Brand New Me (James "J.T." Taylor album), A Family Affair (Christian McBride album), A Night to Remember (Johnny Mathis album), A Prayer Before Dawn (album), A Real Labour of Love, Ahmad Jamal '73, All in Love Is Fair (album), Always You (album), Anarchy (Busta Rhymes album), Angel of the Night, April 10, At Peace with Woman, Barbara Ingram, Bassey – The EMI/UA Years 1959–1979, Be Gentle, Bee Gees, Ben (Michael Jackson album), Betcha by Golly, Wow, Birth Day, Blue Light 'til Dawn, Booger Bear, Born 2 Rap, Bow Down, Break Up to Make Up, Breakfast in Bed (album), Bridget Jones's Diary: Music from the Motion Picture, Bundle of Joy (album), Can't Wait Til Tomorrow, Celebration – The Anniversary Album, Changes (Keni Burke album), Chapter II (Ashanti album), Checkin' Out the Ghosts, Chemistry (Johnny Gill album), Chi-Lites (album), Circle of Love (Sister Sledge album), Complicated (Nivea album), Costello & Nieve, Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, Cradle 2 the Grave (soundtrack), Creed (surname), Cycles (Redbone album), Dawn of a New Day (O'Donel Levy album), December 6, Dee Dee Bridgewater (1980 album), Diana & Marvin, Drowning in the Sea of Love (album), Eloise Laws, Emancipation (Prince album), Everlasting Love (Vanessa Williams album), Every Home Should Have One (album), Everything (Mary J. Blige song), Exodus (Ja Rule album), Feed the Fire (Timothy B. Schmit album), Five Stairsteps, Flying High Together, Forever Love: 36 Greatest Hits, Four Decades of Song, Friends in Love (Dionne Warwick album), Funky Serenity, Garcia Live Volume 18, Ghetto Child, Ginuwine... the Bachelor, Going on Record, Greatest Hits Live ... Now and Forever, Half Crazy, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, Happiness Is Being with the Spinners, Heart 2 Heart (Kyla album), Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection, Her Loss, Here I Stand (Usher album), High Energy (The Supremes album), Hinesight, Hold Me (Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston song), Home (Simply Red album), I Wanna Dance with Somebody (The Movie: Whitney New, Classic and Reimagined), II Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston, Icon (Ja Rule album), If You Want Me, I'll Be Around (The Spinners song), I'll Be Seeing You (Etta Jones album), I'll Take Care of You (Chuck Jackson and Cissy Houston album), I'm Coming Home (album), I'm Coming Home (Johnny Mathis song), I'm Doin' Fine Now (album), I'm Stone in Love with You, In the Basement, Ivory Pyramid, Jamalca (album), Ji (album), Keep the Music Playing, Killing Me Softly with Her Song (album), Kiss tha Game Goodbye, Late Night Tales: BadBadNotGood, Let's Love (album), Let's Put It All Together, Life Is a Song Worth Singing (album), Life Is a Song Worth Singing (song), Linger Lane, Live & More (Marcus Miller album), Live at The Lighthouse (Grant Green album), Live by Request: Johnny Mathis, Live! Coast to Coast, Living All Alone, LMNT, Love in This Club Part II, Love Language (album), Love Never Fails (Jahméne Douglas album), Love Songs (David Sanborn album), Lovers (Babyface album), Love's the Place to Be, Main Event Live, Mary Wilson: The Motown Anthology, Mathis Is..., Mesmerize (song), Mighty Love (song), Mighty Love, Motown (album), Motown Two, Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Music Is the Message, My Beauty, Never Wanted to Dance, New and Improved (The Spinners album), New Jack City II, New Life (Monica album), Night Life (Maxine Nightingale album), No Pressure (Logic album), Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976-1998, On the Line (Michael Wycoff album), One of a Kind (Love Affair), One Wish (Deborah Cox album), Our Kind of Soul, Overdue (album), Payton's Place, People & Love, People Make the World Go Round, Philadelphia soul, Phyllis Hyman (album), Pick of the Litter (The Spinners album), Polar AC, Prince (musician), Programmed (Innerzone Orchestra album), R&B Showcase Radio Show, R3.0, Reach Out: The Motown Record, Real Love Stories, Remixed (Deborah Cox album), Renditions of the Soul, Roberta Flack (album), Rockin' Roll Baby (song), Rockin' Roll Baby, Romantic Journey, Round 2 (The Stylistics album), Russell Thompkins Jr., Sadie (song), Send One Your Love (album), Sergio Mendes (1975 album), Set the Night to Music (album), Share My World, Signed Sealed Delivered (album), Silk Electric, Simon & Simon, Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits, Something About You (Angela Bofill album), Soul in Love, Soulbook, Soulful Road, Spinners (album), Stand for Love, Stickball (album), Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart), Sunflower (Milt Jackson album), Superstition (Shirley Scott album), Tears and Laughter, Ted Eisenberg, The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop, The Best of The Stylistics, The Best Side of Goodbye, The Chicago Theme, The Collection (Whitney Houston album), The Emancipation of Mimi, The Essential Johnny Mathis, The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) (Johnny Mathis album), The George Benson Collection, The Greatest (1977 film), The Greatest Hits of All, The Greatest Love (Philippine TV series), The Greatest Love of All, The Heat (Toni Braxton album), The Hits of Johnny Mathis, The Last Temptation (Ja Rule album), The Magic Is You, The Mathis Collection, The Michael Jackson Mix, The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection, The Ozell Tapes, The Pearls, The Reel Me, The Return (Sampa the Great album), The Ringer (2005 film), The Rubberband Man, The Sandpipers, The Stylistics (album), The Stylistics, The Ultimate Collection (Johnny Mathis album), The Ultimate Collection (Whitney Houston album), The Ultimate Hits Collection (Johnny Mathis album), The Very Best of George Benson: The Greatest Hits of All, The Very Best of Johnny Mathis, There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit, Things Just Ain't the Same, This Is Me... Then, Thom Bell, Tie a Yellow Ribbon (Dawn album), Tim Marshall (radio host), To Love Again (Diana Ross album), Today (Johnny Hartman album), Toni Braxton (album), Tracie Spencer (album), Track of the Cat (album), Two (Bob James album), Undeniable (Raven-Symoné album), Until It's Gone (Monica song), Upendo Ni Pamoja, Vagabond Heart, Visions (Bunky Green album), Voice of Love, Warming Up to the Ice Age, We Got a Good Thing Going, Weekend in L.A., Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, What's It All About (Pat Metheny album), When Will I See You Again (Johnny Mathis album), Whitney Houston (album), Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, Workin' It Back, Yes Lawd!, You Are Everything, You Are My Starship, You Can't Stop the Reign, You Make Me Feel Brand New, Your Game...Live at the 9:30 Club, Yours Faithfully, Zodiac (Electric Six album)


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