In Case You Missed It: Musician Sembello Drowned in Schuykill

Renowned singer/songwriter Danny Sembello drowned in the Schuylkill River over the weekend. Soultracks.com reported Sembello’s death in an obituary Wednesday.

Sembello wrote songs for the likes of the Pointer Sisters, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Jeffrey Osborne, and won a Grammy for his work on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.He wrote the Pointer Sisters hit song “Neutron Dance” as well. His brother Michael sang the ‘80s hit “Maniac.”

Numerous local news reports over the weekend had stated that a man in his 50s first had gone missing and then had been found dead after he went for a swim during the Hidden Rivers Blues Festival in Manayunk Saturday. But officials have yet to identify the man.

Various musicians have paid tribute to Sembello in recent days, and Stevie Wonder acknowledged him from the stage during his Philadelphia concert on Monday.