| Thom Bell | |
| Birth Name: | Thomas Randolph Bell |
| Birth Date: | 26 January 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Kingston, Colony of Jamaica |
| Death Place: | Bellingham, Washington, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1959–2022 |
| Origin: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Thomas Randolph Bell[1] (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.[2] Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and 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.
Bell was born on January 26, 1943, in Kingston, Jamaica,[3] to Anna and Leroy Bell, and brought to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of four by his parents, according to an interview Bell gave to Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air.[4] [5] [6] Both of Bell's parents were native Jamaicans.[7] [8] Thomas Bedward Burke, Bell's maternal grandfather, was born in Kingston, Jamaica.[9] [10]
Known as Thom, Bell was one of ten brothers and sisters. His mother, Anna, worked as a stenographer and was a pianist. Leroy, his father, owned a fish market and restaurant, was also musical, playing the accordion and Hawaiian guitar.[11]
Bell 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 came with Cameo Records in Philadelphia where he worked as a session player and arranger.
In 1967, he was introduced to a local group called the Delfonics, and produced two early singles for them on the Moon Shot and Cameo labels. Bell brought a mellifluous, hypnotic style to soul music, and soon this production aesthetic yielded several big hits for the group on the Philly Groove label, run by their manager Stan Watson. These releases included "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time),"[12] 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 such as Jerry Butler, Archie Bell & the Drells, Jerry Bell, the O'Jays, and Dusty Springfield. He arranged some big hits, including the O'Jays' popular "Back Stabbers," on Gamble and Huff's own record label, Philadelphia International Records, which the two launched in 1971. Bell then joined Gamble and Huff in setting up a publishing company for their songs, Mighty Three Music.[13]
By 1971, Bell had moved on to produce another local group, the Stylistics, this time on Avco Records. He had at this point begun working with the Philadelphia-born songwriter Linda Creed; 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).
In 1972, Bell agreed to produce the Spinners for Atlantic Records. The group had left their longtime label, Motown, following years of only occasional success there; Bell made them 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".[14] In 1974, he was awarded a Grammy for Best Producer of the Year.[15]
In 1975, Bell produced an album for Dionne Warwick called Track of the Cat; this followed "Then Came You," her collaboration with Bell and the Spinners from the previous year, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number two on the R&B chart. Bell also worked in the mid-to-late '70s with acts including Johnny Mathis (two albums), Billy Paul, Ronnie Dyson, Little Anthony & the Imperials, and New York City.
Bell subsequently 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;[16] [17] 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.[18]
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.[19]
Bell married Sylvia Bell in 1965 but they later divorced in 1984. He married Vanessa Joanne Wittrock in Seattle on December 29, 1985.[4] [6] He had six children.[4] [20]
On December 22, 2022, at the age of 79, Bell died at his home in Bellingham, Washington, after what was described as a "lengthy illness."[21] [22]