(some video clips in the link - one of Russell Thompkins Jr. singing "you make me feel brand new")


https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/kenny-gamble-thom-bell-one-greats-our-time


Kenny Gamble: Thom Bell Is One Of The Greats Of Our Time

Looking forward to the "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" TV special, 2017 Trustees Award recipient Thom Bell discusses what the recognition means while colleague Kenny Gamble calls him one of the "greatest of our era"

BRIAN HAACK

GRAMMYS OCT 10, 2017 - 7:15 PM

Songwriter, arranger and label executive Thom Bell's impact on the growth of 1970s Philadelphia soul and R&B is undeniable.

"I wound up doing exactly what I wanted to do: something in music," says Bell of his 20-plus-year production and songwriting career. "And I saw that people started appreciating what I did … when you see say things like that, it gives you that good feeling. You're doing what you're supposed to do. You love what you do, and they love what you're doing also."

Bell's friend and creative collaborator, GRAMMY-winning songwriter and producer Kenny Gamble will get his chance to share some added words of praise for his friend at the upcoming "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" on Oct. 13, on PBS.

"I'm here tonight to honor Thom Bell, one of the greatest producers and arrangers of our era," Gamble says.



Russell Thompkins Jr.

Thom Bell's "Major Influence" On The Stylistics

Ahead of the "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" TV special, take a look at how producer/label exec Thom Bell impacted the Stylistics and the sound of the Stylistics and Philly soul

RENÉE FABIAN

GRAMMYS OCT 9, 2017 - 12:12 PM


There would have been no classic sound of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s if it weren't for producer/record label executive Thom Bell.

This is something Russell Thompkins Jr. knows intimately as a member of the Philly soul group the Stylistics, for whom Bell co-wrote and produced several hits, including "I'm Stone In Love With You," "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" and "You Are Everything."

"He was the major influence of my career," says Thompkins. "When I first went in with Tommy, I think I was 19 or 20 years old. That's when I first started learning my craft. And from the things that I learned from doing the sessions with him, it's lasted me my whole career."

Now, Thompkins will have a chance to honor Bell, a 2017 Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient, for his contributions to the music industry during the Academy's "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" two-hour TV special in recognition of this year's class of Special Merit Awards recipients.

Thompkins will perform a rendition of "You Make Me Feel Brand New" in Bell's honor, one of the biggest songs Bell did with the Stylistics. But Thompkins' favorite Bell tune?

"My favorite song of Thom Bell's in 'Betcha By Golly Wow,'" says Thompkins. "It's the song in my show that I never get tired of performing. It's a wonderful song. I think out of the Stylistics' songs, it's the most recorded and done by other artists."