What's the saying, 'it never rains but it pours'? After a tribute
yesterday to Sam Hutchins of The Masqueraders, news has arrived of the
death of a true soul music legend, songwriter, musician, arranger and
producer Thom Bell aged 79.
Where do you even begin to write about his contribution to soul
music? Best just to let his music do the talking with the playlist
below which only scrapes the surface.
He was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 26 Jan 1943 but raised in
Philadelphia and trained as a classical musician. He became one of
the architects of Philly soul along with Gamble & Huff who formed a
publishing company Mighty Three Music together, but he never
partnered with them when they formed Philadelphia International
Records choosing to go his own way.
Bell recorded a single with Kenny Gamble in 1962 as Kenny &
Tommy on Heritage and was a member of Kenny Gamble & The Romeos
with Gamble & Huff who released a couple of singles in 1965 and
1967. He focused on writing, arranging and producing and is perhaps
best known for his work with The Delfonics, The Stylistics and The
Spinners in particular.
We mentioned him only a few days ago when posting First Choice The
Philadelphia Re-edit Sessions as he was A&R man for Philly Groove
and worked with their main act The Delfonics on Moon Shot from 1966
before they joined Philly Groove in 1968. He had been working with the
likes of Chubby Checker at Cameo Parkway prior to that aged only
22.
By 1971 he teamed up with Linda Creed and they produced multiple hits
initially for The Stylistics and then The Spinners who had just left
Motown.
His awards include a Grammy for Best Producer of the Year (1974),
induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (Jun 2006) and induction
into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (2016).
The playlist below selects six tracks from each of The Delfonics, The
Stylistics and The Spinners most written by Bell with a couple not
written but arranged or produced by him. Then for our rare/Northern
Soul brethren a selection of tracks he was involved with in some
capacity, either writer, arranger or producer, including a few with
his cousin Archie Bell (& The Drells) and the mighty O'Jays.
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1 comment:
Definitely nothing is going well at the end of the year. It is true that we age too and that is in the logical order of things. But it still comes as a shock to us, because all these great artists are part of our family and we grew up with them. The Thom Bell - Linda Creed duo was a high standard in Philly sound and will always be in my heart.
RIP Thom
Yves
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