Bell wanted to sharpen his arranging skills so he made a deal with Gamble and Huff as an independent arranger, and worked with the Intruders, the O'Jays, and others. He returned to writing and production in 1971, churning out a remarkable series of velvety ballads with the Stylistics and more rhythmic, R&B-inclined smashes with the Spinners. The Stylistics' hits employed a harmonic sophistication equal to that of Burt Bacharach, with Russell Thompkins and Airrion Love's silky falsettos carrying classic melodies, especially on "You Make Me Feel Brand New," "Betcha By Golly, Wow," and "I'm Stone in Love With You."

To use a Motown analogy, the Spinners were Bell's Temptations to the Stylistics' Miracles. 1973's self-titled album yielded four grooving classics: "I'll Be Around," and "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love," driven by punchy strings, Phillippe Wynne's lead vocal, and Bell's own percussion; "One of a Kind (Love Affair)"; and "Ghetto Child," which displays a gentle but persistent social conscience - a nice metaphor for Bell's life and music.

One of the popular pop singers of the '70s and country singers of the '80s, Mac Davis has also been a wildly successful songwriter, beginning with successful recordings by Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro, Lou Rawls, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in the mid-'60s. In 1968, Elvis Presley recorded Davis' propulsive, sly "A Little Less Conversation," now the theme song for the television hit Las Vegas. After notching a minor hit with Davis' "Memories," Presley solidified his comeback with the songwriter's topical classic "In the Ghetto" in 1969.

In 1972, Davis scored a Number One hit of his own with "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me," which also hit the country charts. His crossover success continued throughout the decade, with singles like "Stop and Smell the Roses," "Burnin' Thing," and "Forever Lovers." Davis' success continued in the early '80s: "It's Hard to Be Humble," the title track of his 1980 album, was the first of four consecutive Top Ten country hits that culminated with his biggest country single, "Hooked on Music."

Will Jennings teamed with composer Richard Kerr to author Barry Manilow's 1977 pop chart-topper "Looks Like We Made It," and two years later Manilow hit again with the duo's "Somewhere in the Night." After earning his first Academy Award nomination for the song "People Alone" from The Competition in 1980, Jennings collaborated with Steve Winwood for several songs on the very fine 1981 album Arc of a Diver. Jennings and Winwood reunited the following year for Talking Back to the Night, which generated the hit "Valerie."

With Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jennings next scored his first Oscar for "Up Where We Belong," the Joe Cocker/Jennifer Warren power balled from An Officer and a Gentlemen. Jennings collaborated with Jimmy Buffett on his Riddles in the Sand and its follow-up Last Mango in Paris; then reunited with Winwood for the deep hard grooves of Back in the High Life, earning a Song of the Year Grammy nomination for the Number One smash "Higher Love." In 1991, Jennings paired with Eric Clapton for "Tears in Heaven," then continued the death-is-not-the-end mega-ballad theme with Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On" in '97.