Deceased January 15, 2022
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
In Memory
Jon Lind, who entered Amherst with the class of 1969, passed away on Jan. 15, following a two-year battle with cancer. Jonny claimed that he had been an indifferent student at Oyster Bay High School, but that Admissions Dean Eugene Wilson was fascinated that he had spent high school singing folk songs in Manhattan coffeehouses with Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and Dave Van Ronk. His music buoyed us all. He had a marvelous voice and was a virtuoso guitarist. He sang everywhere, even in the stairwell, and was usually the last person to go to bed.
Jon left Amherst after our first year to study at the Mannes School of Music, and he continued to perform. Over the next decade, he signed recording contracts with three different bands, but, as he told an interviewer in 2012, their albums “flopped.” “Our material was way too eclectic,” he recalled, “sort of Crosby, Stills and Nash meets folk songs of Bulgaria.” Relocating to Los Angeles, he turned to songwriting. His first hit was “Sun Goddess,” recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire, followed by The Emotions’ “Boogie Wonderland” and Madonna’s single “Crazy for You.” Through the 1990s, Lind’s music was snapped up by many stars, including Vanessa Williams (“Save the Best for Last”), Cher, Cheap Trick, Aaron Neville and Pete Townshend.
Not surprisingly, such a versatile and resilient talent had another chapter ahead. In 1998, he joined Hollywood Records and focused on mentoring young talent. Over the next two decades he worked with BBMak, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and many others. “Study the songs and records you love,” he told them. “Be fearless and keep going.” He did—and we are all the better for it. He is survived by his wife, Sue Drew, four children and three grandchildren.
—Fred Hoxie ’69