Legendary Philadelphia songwriter, musician, arranger and producer Thom Bell, who died on 22 Dec 2022, was born on this day in 1943 and would have been 80 today. This is a re-post of the tribute for him from December.
There are conflicting dates for his birthday, Wikipedia states both 27 Jan and also 26 Jan and other sources state 25 Jan, so we could be a day or two out, but consensus seems to be 27 Jan.
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 or 27 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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For fans there is an excellent compilation with various artists, very representative of his talent as a composer: Kent CDTOP 488 "Ready Or Not - Thom Bell's Philly Soul Arrangements & Productions 1965-1978"
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