Thom Bell

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Thomas Randolph Bell (born January 26, 1943) is a Jamaican-born American songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known as one of Philadelphia's 1970s pioneers.

Bell is best known for his 1970s band, particularly with the Stylistics and Spinners.

Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2006.

Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.

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Career

Bell, who classically trained as a guitarist, moved to Philadelphia as an infant, and as a teenager, performed 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 performed as a session player and arranger. He was introduced to The Delfonics, a local company that produced two singles for them on their subsidiary label, Moonglow. Bell brought a mellifluous, hypnotic haut en couleur style to soul music, and his production skills followed several big hits for the company under the name of Philly Groove, owned by company manager Stan Watson. "La La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I) were among the many items included in the former's "Blow Your Mind This Time)" series, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1970.

Bell had also joined Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in Philadelphia, PA, as an arranger for shows including Jerry Butler, Archie Bell & The Drells, The O'Jays, and Dusty Springfield. On Gamble & Huff's own record label, Philadelphia International Records, he arranged some of the early big hits, including the O'Jays' "Back Stabbers" on the O'Jays' "Back Stabbers." Mighty Three Music is also involved in the establishment of a music publishing firm for their songs.

Bell had established The Stylistics, a local company, this time on Avco Records by 1971. By then, he had collaborated with Linda Creed, a Philadelphia-born singer, and this collaboration, along with Russell Thompkins, Jr., the lead singer of the Stylistics, had released three albums full of memorable songs. Bell and Creed became one of the most influential soul songwriting teams of the 1980s, with hits including "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)," "You Are Everything"), "Break Up to Make Up," "You Make Me Feel Brand New," and "I'm Stone in Love with You" (the latter with Anthony Bell).

Bell promised to produce The Spinners for Atlantic Records in 1972. Since struggling to get the attention they needed, the group, who had been with Motown Records for a long time, was transferred to Atlantic. It was the start of a long line of eight original albums and seven years. Bell revived the company, releasing five gold albums that included hits including "I'll Be Around," "Can It Be I'm Falling in Love," "Games People Play," and "The Rubberband Man." In 1974, he was named Best Producer of the Year.

Bell's Track of the Cat, a year after he had collaborated her with the Spinners on the album "Then Came You," a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and landed at number one on the R&B chart, earned her a year ago. Billy Mathis (two albums), Billy Paul, Ronnie Dyson, Anthony & The Imperials, and New York City in the mid to late 1970s, but generally with less commercial appeal.

Bell continued to prosper with Deniece Williams' "I Don't Have the Heart" in 1982; John Elton of "I Don't Have the Heart" in 1990; and "Mama Can't Buy You Love" in 1979, her second top ten hit. Bell's 1980s releases included The Temptations, Phyllis Hyman, Dee Dee Bridgwater, and he even reunited briefly with the Stylistics in 1981 on Philadelphia International's subsidiary, TSOP.

Mighty Three Music was purchased by Warner Chappell Music in 1990.

Bell's December 2008 interview on Love Train confirmed that he will soon compose a piece for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Members of MFSB, the orchestra orchestra that appeared on several Bell shows, performed in MFSB.

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