Thomas Randolph Bell was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s.
14 Facts About Thom Bell
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Thom Bell found success as a producer and songwriter for the Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners.
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In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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In 2016, Thom Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
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Thomas Randolph Bell was born in Jamaica and brought over by his Jamaican parents at the age of four based on his interview with Terry Gross.
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Thom Bell was one of ten children born to Anna and Leroy Bell.
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Thom Bell, classically trained as a musician, sang as a teenager with Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Daryl Hall.
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Thom Bell brought a mellifluous, hypnotic haut en couleur style to soul music and soon his production talents yielded several big hits for the group on the Philly Groove label, run by their manager Stan Watson.
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Thom Bell joined the two in setting up a music publishing company for their songs, Mighty Three Music.
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In 1972, Thom Bell agreed to produce The Spinners for Atlantic Records.
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Thom 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.
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Thom Bell married Sylvia Thom Bell in 1965 but they later divorced in 1984.
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Thom Bell married the former Vanessa Joanne Wittrock in Seattle on December 29,1985.
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Thom Bell died at his home in Bellingham, Washington after what was described as a "lengthy illness".