NEWS

"Philly Sound" Great Thom Bell Called to Songwriters Hall of Fame

Written by Eric Olsen
Published April 05, 2006
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Henry "Hank" Cosby played sax with the earliest incarnation of Motown's legendary studio group, the Funk Brothers, and co-wrote such sparkling slices of pop-soul as Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Tears of a Clown."

In 1962 Cosby teamed with 11-year-old Little Stevie Wonder to author "Fingertips," and a subsequent live recording cut at Detroit's famed Fox Theater launched the child prodigy's five-decade career. Cosby and Wonder teamed on a number of other hits in the years to follow, often in collaboration with Sylvia Moy, including "I Was Made to Love Her," "My Cherie Amour," and "Shoo Bee Doo Bee Da Day."

In addition to her classic work with Cosby and Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy also co-wrote "It Takes Two" for Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, and was the first female to have the title of "record producer" at Motown. Moy went on to write the theme songs for many television shows including Blossom, The Wonder Years, and Growing Pains. She was also involved with the theme music for the films It Takes Two, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Dead Presidents. Moy co-founded the Center for Creative Communications, also known as "Masterworks," which trains young adults in the field of telecommunications and media arts.

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"Philly Sound" Great Thom Bell Called to Songwriters Hall of Fame
Published: April 05, 2006
Type: News
Section: Music
Filed Under: Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Country and Americana, Music: News, Music: Pop, Music: R&B, Music: Rock, Music: Soundtracks
Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments

#1 — April 5, 2006 @ 21:43PM — Dawn

Thom Bell is the bomb. I love all those Delfonics, Stylistic hits. I don't think the bands would have developed that unique sound without his influence and genius.

What a great piece, very informative and insightful.

#2 — April 5, 2006 @ 21:45PM — Barry Stoller [URL]

I spoke to Richard Rome (Cameo-Parkway arranger, producer and writer) over the summer and he gave me his particular take on the 'Philly Sound.' Although the house band (International Pop Orchestra) often billed itself as '110 musicians,' most sessions used no more than 6 strings, without ovedubs. "Once I brought in 12 guys for a session and the owners gave me serious hell over that," Rome commented. It was a vexation then, the limitation, but some of those hard-scrabble backing tracks have a directness that meets today's ear with the sound of cool.

#3 — April 6, 2006 @ 07:02AM — Eric Olsen

thanks Dawn, and very interesting Barry!

#4 — November 25, 2006 @ 12:21PM — FREE

THANKS THOM BELL FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL MUSIC YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR WORLD...SOBEYE

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