Roger Nichols, the composer behind some of The Carpenters’ biggest hits, has died at the age of 84. He died on May 17 but the news is only just being made public. No cause of death has been revealed. His songwriting partner Paul Williams confirmed the news in an Instagram post. “The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called ‘It’s hard to say goodbye…’ Sadly, we hit the nail on the head. Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side. They were his dream come true. His greatest joy,” he wrote.

Nicols and Williams’ songwriting partnership produced some of The Carpenters biggest and most loved hits – We’ve Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays and I Won’t Last a Day Without You. Their songs were also performed by huge names such as Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka and The Monkees.

Roger’s daughter Claire paid tribute on Instagram writing: “My mom, Terri, and my sisters, Caroline and Caitlin, are all so proud of the man he was, and are in awe of the legacy he leaves.”

Tributes also flooded in from fans as the news broke. “Rainy Days and Mondays, We’ve Only Just Begun, I Won’t Last a Day… Your partnership left a mark, forever. Men like he an you are gifted with one of the most rare circumstences in a human life: inmortality through art. Each time one of your records spins, he’ll live again somehow. All souls las forever (I’ve heard it somewhere…) Love and gratitude,” one wrote.

“My sympathies! Roger, I felt never got all the recognition for his work as he should’ve. It feels like there’s too many songwriters out there who the general public doesn’t know because their songs are performed by the well known singers and bands. I have a number of records with the names ‘Roger Nichols – Paul Williams’ and they make me smile quite often. Thoughts and prayers to Roger and his family/friends,” another penned.

“This is not the news I wanted to wake up to. I have long considered Roger a genius and the two of you to be one of the greatest songwriting teams ever…PERIOD. There’s nothing like discovering yet another perfect little Roger Nichols-Paul Williams gem I hadn’t heard before. Thank you both endlessly and RIP to Roger. I’m glad to be among the ‘small circle of friends’ who understand all that he brought to the world,” a third chimed in.

A fourth wrote: “RIP. I was just singing I Won’t Last a Day Without You. Such a beautiful song.” A fifth added: “So sorry to hear this. He wrote some amazing songs with and without Paul Williams.” Meanwhile a sixth offerdd: “Very sad to hear this news. I was truly a fan of Roger’s. Love and Mercy.”

One of his best known creations We’ve Only Just Begun began life as a jingle for a Crocker Bank commercial. Roger and Paul were commissioned to write it after a bank executive heard Roger’s album, and it was composed in a matter of hours on the last day before the deadline.

Richard Carpenter, heard it on TV and believed it had hit potential. The Carpenters, subsequently recorded a version, which became a major hit in late 1970.

It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, was included on BMI’s million performances list and received an award for selling a million copies of sheet music.