Norman Gimbel, Prolific Songwriter, Dies at 91
Norman Gimbel, an Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, has died at the age of 91.
The prolific songwriter is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and the English lyrics for “The Girl From Ipanema.”
Gimbel, along with his collaborator Charles Fox, won the Song of the Year Grammy in 1973 for Roberta Flack’s version of “Killing Me Softly.” Years later, The Fugees scored a hit with a hip-hop version of the song.
He also penned the English lyrics for one the world’s most recorded tunes, “The Girl From Ipanema,” which won the Grammy for record of the year in 1965.
Gimbel also wrote the English lyrics for Michel Legrande’s music for the film “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” starring Catherine Deneuve.
He shared an Oscar for original song with David Shire for “It Goes Like It Goes,” from the film “Norma Rae, starring Sally Field.
Gimbel and Fox also worked together on Jim Croce’s “I Got A Name,” released the day after Croce died in a plane crash, Sept. 20, 1973.
Gimbel and Fox also shared their talents with television productions, including writing the theme songs for “Happy Days” and “LaVerne and Shirley.”
Gimbel’s son Tony told The Hollywood Reporter that his father died Dec. 19 at his home in Montecito, California.
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