Linda Creed

Linda Creed wrote the lyrics behind some of the defining Philadelphia soul records of the 1970s, teaming with producer Thom Bell for hits including "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "You Are Everything" and "Break Up to Make Up" for the Stylistics and the Spinners. Her best-known song came at the end of her life: she wrote "The Greatest Love of All" with composer Michael Masser while being treated for the breast cancer that would kill her at 37, its lyrics of resilience becoming a number-one hit for Whitney Houston in 1985, weeks after Creed's death.