Thom Bell

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Thomas Randolph Bell<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for the Delfonics, the Stylistics, and the Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2025, Bell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence Award category.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="rr25">Template:Cite web</ref>

Background

File:Thom Bell in 1950 US Census.jpg
Thom Bell, listed with his parents and an older brother, Lloyd in a US census in 1950

Bell was born on January 26, 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to Anna and Leroy Bell, and moved to Philadelphia with his parents when he was four, according to an interview Bell had with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name='1950-USCensus'>

Template:Cite web </ref><ref name='WA-Marriage'> Template:Cite web </ref> Both of Bell's parents were from Jamaica.<ref name='WWII-Draft'> Template:Cite web </ref><ref name="Tribune-Anna-Obit">Template:Cite news</ref> Thomas Bedward Burke, Bell's maternal grandfather, was born in Kingston.<ref name='SSACI-Burke'>His father was a botanist, and his mother a secretary.</ref><ref name="Tribune-Anna-Obit"/>

Known as Thom, Bell was one of eleven siblings. His mother, Anna, worked as a stenographer and was a pianist. Leroy, his father, owned a fish market and restaurant in addition to being musical, playing the accordion and Hawaiian guitar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Bell was classically trained as a musician and sang as a teenager with Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Daryl Hall (of Hall & Oates fame). Bell's first big break in soul music was with Cameo Records in Philadelphia where he worked as a session player and arranger.<ref name="Larkin" /> In 1967, he was introduced to a local group called The Delfonics, and he produced two early singles for them on the Moon Shot and Cameo labels.<ref name="Larkin" /> Soon Bell's production aesthetic yielded several big hits for the group on the Philly Groove label, run by their manager Stan Watson.<ref name="Larkin" /> The releases included "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time),"<ref name="Larkin22">Template:Cite book</ref> the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1970.

Bell joined the fast-growing record production company operated by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in Philadelphia, working as an arranger for acts including Jerry Butler, Archie Bell & the Drells, Jerry Bell, The O'Jays, and Dusty Springfield.<ref name="Larkin" /> He arranged big hits, including the O'Jays' popular "Back Stabbers," on Gamble and Huff's record label, Philadelphia International Records, which the two launched in 1971.<ref name="Larkin" /> Bell then joined Gamble and Huff in setting up a publishing company for their songs, Mighty Three Music.<ref>Gamble-Huff website recognizing 50th-year anniversary of Mighty Three Music, Gamble-huffmusic.com</ref>

By 1971, Bell had moved on to produce a local group, the Stylistics on Avco Records.<ref name="Larkin" /> He had started to work with songwriter Linda Creed, from Philadelphia; their partnership became one of the era's dominant soul songwriting teams, writing Stylistics hits including "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "Break Up to Make Up", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "I'm Stone in Love with You" (the last co-written with Bell's brother Tony).<ref name="Larkin" /> In 1972, Bell agreed to produce The Spinners for Atlantic Records.<ref name="Larkin" /> The group had left their longtime label, Motown, after years of only occasional success there. He made The Spinners a hit recording act, producing five gold albums and top-ten singles including "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "Games People Play", and "The Rubberband Man".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1974, he was awarded a Grammy for Best Producer of the Year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1975, Bell produced an album for Dionne Warwick called Track of the Cat, which followed "Then Came You," her collaboration with Bell and the Spinners from 1974. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 reaching number two on the R&B chart. Bell worked in the mid-to-late 1970s with Johnny Mathis (two albums),<ref name="Larkin" /> Billy Paul, Ronnie Dyson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the R&B group New York City, and others. Then Bell had success with Deniece Williams including her R&B number-one and top-ten remake of The Royalettes' "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" in 1982;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - Template:ISBN</ref> Elton John, whose EP The Thom Bell Sessions featured backing vocals by the Spinners and produced the top-ten hit "Mama Can't Buy You Love" in 1979; and James Ingram, whose "I Don't Have the Heart" became Bell's second number-one pop hit, in 1990. Other artists Bell produced in the 1980s included The Temptations, Phyllis Hyman, and Dee Dee Bridgewater; he also re-united briefly with the Stylistics in 1981 on Philadelphia International's subsidiary, TSOP. Warner Chappell Music acquired Mighty Three Music in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A December 2008 interview with Bell featured on the Philly Soul box set, Love Train, stated he would soon compose a piece for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Past Orchestra members played in MFSB, the house band who played on many Bell productions.

Bell was known for being a perfectionist in his writing and very budget-conscious, demanding that session musicians play his compositions as they were written and not improvise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Bell married Sylvia Bell in 1965 and they divorced in 1984. He married Vanessa Joanne Wittrock in Seattle on December 29, 1985.<ref name=":02"/><ref name='WA-Marriage'/> He had six children.<ref name=":02"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On December 22, 2022 at the age of 79, Bell died at his home in Bellingham, Washington, north of Everett, after a lengthy illness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="obit2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Producing and songwriting

References

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