R.I.P.: Jim Seals of Seal & Crofts '70s Fame

Jim Seals (1941-2022)

Jim Seals of the iconic 1970s singing duo Seals and Crofts died on Monday. He was 80, reports The NY Post.

No cause of death was released. The passing of Seals, who formed the musical pair with Darrel “Dash” Crofts in 1969, was confirmed by multiple friends and relatives online, including his musician cousin, Brady Seals.

“I just learned that James ‘Jimmy’ Seals has passed. My heart just breaks for his wife Ruby and their children,” the country singer wrote on Instagram. “Please keep them in your prayers. What an incredible legacy he leaves behind.”

Seals and Darrell “Dash” Crofts emulated the era of “soft rock,” with a string of hit tracks in the ’70s including “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl” and “Get Closer,” which featured Carolyn Willis. While none of their tunes reached No. 1, they did make it in the top 10 of Hot 100 songs. “We May Never Pass This Way (Again),” “I’ll Play for You,” “Goodbye Old Buddies” and “You’re the Love” reached the adult contemporary chart’s top 10.

Other singers also weighed in on Seals’ passing.

“I spent a large portion of my musical life with this man. We toured together, he and Dash invited us to sing on Seals and Crofts records, and we played with him for years,” wrote fellow musician John Ford Coley in a lengthy Facebook post. Coley — who was half of the singing group England Dan & John Ford Coley alongside Jim Seals’ brother, Dan, who died in 2009 — noted that while the two “didn’t always see eye to eye,” Coley called Seals an “enigma.”

“I thought he was a bona fide, dyed in the wool musical genius and a very deep and contemplative man,” he continued. “We didn’t always agree and it wasn’t always easy and it wasn’t always fun but it definitely was always entertaining for sure. Dan adored his older brother and it was because of Jimmy opening doors for us that we came to Los Angeles to record and meet the right people.”