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Composer Ralph MacDonald dead at 67

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Ralph MacDonald, the composer of "Where is the Love" and "Just the Two of Us," died Sunday in Connecticut at the age of 67, his family announced.

MacDonald, a longtime percussionist with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, won two Grammys for producing "Calypso Breakdown" and wrote most of the songs on Harry Belafonte's landmark 1966 album "Calypso Carnival."

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The New York Daily News said MacDonald battled lung cancer and suffered a stroke in recent years that forced him to give up touring.

The Harlem-born MacDonald was the son of calypso musician MacBeth the Great and worked with a roster of prominent singers, including Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel. He also wrote "Where is the Love," which Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway turned into a huge hit.

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