With a career that spanned more than six decades, producer/arranger/songwriter/ musician Thom Bell was, along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, one of the “Mighty Three” figures in the creation of the Philadelphia Sound, a brand of soul music typified by lush arrangements and sophisticated funk. A prolific creator, Bell’s work crafting hit after hit for artists like the Delfonics, the Stylistics, the Spinners, and many more, laid the groundwork for the disco of the 1970s and R&B of the 1980s.  

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Thomas Bell moved to Philly with his parents at age 4. He began studying classical music as a teen with the aim of becoming a conductor. After forming a short-lived doo-wop group with Gamble and a stint as a session musician and songwriter for Cameo Records, Bell met local group the Delfonics. Bell co–wrote and produced two hits for the group, “La-La (Means I Love You)” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time).” Bell then teamed up with Gamble and Huff, first in a record production company, then on Mighty Three Music, a publishing company for their songs.  

Bell’s classical training and love of unusual instrumentation, partially inspired by the distinctive film scores of Italian composers Ennio Morricone, set him apart from other soul writers and arrangers and resulted in songs that felt both fresh and timeless. This includes songs he co–wrote, like “I’ll Be Around” by the Spinners and “Brand New Me” by Dusty Springfield, ; songs he arranged, such as “Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays and “Me & Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul, ; and albums he produced for artists ranging from Dionne Warwick to Elton John to James Ingram. 

Thom Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2016. Bell said, “Invariably, when other producers and musicians would say that my sounds were odd for R&B, I would just tell them, ‘I don’t do R&B — I do music.’” Bell passed away in 2022, and his influence can be heard in an array of soulful artists, including David Bowie, Carole King, Hall and Oates, George Michael, Jill Scott, and Jazmine Sullivan.