Architect of the Sound of Philadelphia. He was the man behind many hits by the likes of the Spinners, the O-Jays, the Stylistics to name a few. He moved to Seattle in the late 70s & was active in the local music scene.

[pitchfork.com]

… + The Delfonics!

He blew my mind many times.

Rest in power.

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BowieStone
… + The Delfonics!

He blew my mind many times.

Rest in power.

His resume' was outstanding. 1 of those guys behind the curtain. The EP that he did with Elton John was the best thing Elton did after the classic period.

A great, great talent behind so many of the classic hits that were the soundtrack of my life in high school and beyond.

Thank you, and RIP Thom Bell.




The article listed ended with this paragraph:

Bell reflected on his writing process. “Every melody I ever wrote, I worked hard on,” he said. “And once I deliver it, that’s it. There’s nothing else I can do. I had one rule: You cannot change that melody. You don’t know why it’s right, but you know it is. You take a pencil and you put it in the pencil sharpener and you sharpen it and sharpen it and sharpen it—once it reaches its point, it’s done. Once it gets to where it’s supposed to be, that’s where it’s supposed to be. After that, it breaks.”


I thought that was very interesting. Nowadays singers in all genres feel the need to go off in all directions when they are covering songs, so much so that they re-make the melodies. I find that self-indulgent and annoying, and looking at it from Bell's perspective it seems insulting to the songwriter that they would mess with their work. His analogy about a breaking pencil point is perfect.

Very sad news....


RIP Thom Bell

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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BowieStone
… + The Delfonics!

He blew my mind many times.

Rest in power.

He put Philly music to the b world. Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass TSOP thebsoundn9f Philadelphia. Also collaborations with Salsoul Orchestra. I think Davis Bowie recorded Young Americans at their studios with Luther Vandross producing wanting to get that silky smooth Philly soul sound. He was a legend.

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PhillyFAN

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BowieStone
… + The Delfonics!

He blew my mind many times.

Rest in power.

He put Philly music to the b world. Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass TSOP thebsoundn9f Philadelphia. Also collaborations with Salsoul Orchestra. I think Davis Bowie recorded Young Americans at their studios with Luther Vandross producing wanting to get that silky smooth Philly soul sound. He was a legend.

Bowie did partly record Young Americans there but it was produced by Bowie, Tony Visconti & Harry Maslin. Luther Vandross was an unknown backup singer then but did sing on the sessions & also on Bowie's Diamond Dogs/Soul tour. Needless to say, Bell did have a big influence on Young Americans.

I've always loved Russell Thompkins, Jr. and The Stylistics. One of my biggest thrills was being able to meet Russell after a show once and talk about how the early 1970s was such a "Golden Age," not just for Soul music, but also for Rock music, film, sports, muscle cars, etc., and how his voice, and the songs he sang, were such a big part of that.

One memory that really sticks in my head is going to a cousin's wedding, circa 1972, when I was about 13 years old, and hearing "Betcha by Golly, Wow" on the car radio on the way home from the ceremony and thinking "This must be what being in love with someone sounds like."