Inside Tracks #10: Thom Bell & Phil Hurtt, "I'll Be Around" by Spinners, Hall & Oates, The Rippingtons feat. Jeffrey Osborne, Terri Wells, Regina Belle
Inside Tracks #10: Thom Bell & Phil Hurtt, "I'll Be Around" by Spinners, Hall & Oates, The Rippingtons feat. Jeffrey Osborne, Terri Wells, Regina Belle
It's def a Philly thing, as a smooth'n'soulful '70s classic gets its due from a handful of artists over the decades...many with Philly roots themselves!
Lots of great stuff in this recent “Inside Tracks”. I love the Philly sound, the soulful recordings and the great songwriting that emanated from this region and in this time period. Especially love Daryl Hall and Ty Taylor doing their version of the Spinners classic, “I’ll Be Around”. Thank you, Brad 💥
Thank YOU, Stephen! I'm glad you like! I'd never seen the Ty/Daryl vid until doing research. Couldn't NOT include it! You can't believe how massive this "Inside Tracks" was ballooning into! Not one to usually show editing restraints, I had to (like Daryl) pull back a bit....the good news: I not only have ONE more similarly-related article in the queue, now, but TWO!
As you can guess from this piece, I'm a massive Thom Bell fan, and have been for decades. One could probably argue, that if TSOP's distinctive sound can be funneled down to just one man, Bell might just be the one. But, of course, we know Gamble, Huff, Creed, McFadden & Whitehead, Charles Simmons, Bruce Hawes, and a legion of folks are also massive contributors! I just can't seem to find a pedestal tall enough, though, on which to place Bell!
I know you're an Elton fan (heck, you employed his rhythm section at one point...when he wouldn't anymore!), but my Elton fandom can only come up with about 5 of his songs I can say I like. My favorite Elton songs, in fact, are the ones HE DIDN'T WRITE! If you're not familiar, please check out his "The Thom Bell Sessions," recorded in '77 (produced by Bell), but curiously, not released until '79.
Of its 6 songs, 2 had Bell collaboration, and 3 others were written by TSOP regulars! One song, "Country Love Song," was written by the great, but unheralded Joseph Jefferson, who passed away in July 2020. Bell was Jefferson's mentor at "the shop"! 'Twas Jefferson, Hawes, and Simmons who wrote the Spinners' "One of a Kind Love Affair," "Games People Play," and "Mighty Love"!!😱
While I'm throwing around Spotify links, I KNOW you haven't heard this....I think they only ever had a singles deal with Columbia: The Philly Devotions, with "I Just Can't Make it Without You" (1975). It's all John Davis (about whom I know little....I plan on changing that)! And, sharing, of course! Davis wrote, produced, arranged and conducted, and while I can't confirm (yet), it sounds like a Sigma joint with all the MFSB cats present!
Thanks, Bryan! There's more to the story of "I'll Be Around" than could fit into this "Inside Tracks"! So, there'll be an entire article coming soon on how that one song planted the seed for an entire new genre to bloom! All of which motivated me to start another article or two that are anywhere from loosely to directly related! It'll be a fun run....stay tuned!🎼🎶🎵👍
Me too! Look for my reply to Stephen somewhere on this page! I left practically a whole new article (with music links!)! Stay tuned, 'cause I ain't done with Philly yet (despite how done their baseball team is now....ahem!)....this one was getting so out of hand, length-wise, I created a whole new TSOP-related article page, and my research even inspired yet another article soon to drop!
BTW (and I forgot to mention this to Stephen), the reason I'm even aware of the Philly Devotions song is because, in 1975, I had gotten the promo single from CBS. I only mention that because it's an incredible song no one's ever heard...it was never a hit, and I don't believe they had anything but a singles deal with Columbia (so it's not on an album). And, all of it is the work of one man....John Davis!
Lots of great stuff in this recent “Inside Tracks”. I love the Philly sound, the soulful recordings and the great songwriting that emanated from this region and in this time period. Especially love Daryl Hall and Ty Taylor doing their version of the Spinners classic, “I’ll Be Around”. Thank you, Brad 💥
Thank YOU, Stephen! I'm glad you like! I'd never seen the Ty/Daryl vid until doing research. Couldn't NOT include it! You can't believe how massive this "Inside Tracks" was ballooning into! Not one to usually show editing restraints, I had to (like Daryl) pull back a bit....the good news: I not only have ONE more similarly-related article in the queue, now, but TWO!
As you can guess from this piece, I'm a massive Thom Bell fan, and have been for decades. One could probably argue, that if TSOP's distinctive sound can be funneled down to just one man, Bell might just be the one. But, of course, we know Gamble, Huff, Creed, McFadden & Whitehead, Charles Simmons, Bruce Hawes, and a legion of folks are also massive contributors! I just can't seem to find a pedestal tall enough, though, on which to place Bell!
I know you're an Elton fan (heck, you employed his rhythm section at one point...when he wouldn't anymore!), but my Elton fandom can only come up with about 5 of his songs I can say I like. My favorite Elton songs, in fact, are the ones HE DIDN'T WRITE! If you're not familiar, please check out his "The Thom Bell Sessions," recorded in '77 (produced by Bell), but curiously, not released until '79.
Of its 6 songs, 2 had Bell collaboration, and 3 others were written by TSOP regulars! One song, "Country Love Song," was written by the great, but unheralded Joseph Jefferson, who passed away in July 2020. Bell was Jefferson's mentor at "the shop"! 'Twas Jefferson, Hawes, and Simmons who wrote the Spinners' "One of a Kind Love Affair," "Games People Play," and "Mighty Love"!!😱
Here's a link to Elton's Bell Sessions (sorry if you're already hip to it...so many Elton fans I've run into aren't even aware of its existence!): https://open.spotify.com/album/0EXubpxzIR0IoPJCCvJNDZ?si=aa171048f7ca4f72
While I'm throwing around Spotify links, I KNOW you haven't heard this....I think they only ever had a singles deal with Columbia: The Philly Devotions, with "I Just Can't Make it Without You" (1975). It's all John Davis (about whom I know little....I plan on changing that)! And, sharing, of course! Davis wrote, produced, arranged and conducted, and while I can't confirm (yet), it sounds like a Sigma joint with all the MFSB cats present!
It shouldn't take you even two listens before it's in your head the whole day! https://open.spotify.com/track/1IZgV6OvxnCgp9gU7yJfTi?si=e463fb5866f54520
Enjoy, Stephen!!
Love this!
Thanks, Bryan! There's more to the story of "I'll Be Around" than could fit into this "Inside Tracks"! So, there'll be an entire article coming soon on how that one song planted the seed for an entire new genre to bloom! All of which motivated me to start another article or two that are anywhere from loosely to directly related! It'll be a fun run....stay tuned!🎼🎶🎵👍
Looking forward to it!
I'm a sucker for anything related to the Philly Sound. "I'll Be Around" is one of my all-time faves!
Me too! Look for my reply to Stephen somewhere on this page! I left practically a whole new article (with music links!)! Stay tuned, 'cause I ain't done with Philly yet (despite how done their baseball team is now....ahem!)....this one was getting so out of hand, length-wise, I created a whole new TSOP-related article page, and my research even inspired yet another article soon to drop!
BTW (and I forgot to mention this to Stephen), the reason I'm even aware of the Philly Devotions song is because, in 1975, I had gotten the promo single from CBS. I only mention that because it's an incredible song no one's ever heard...it was never a hit, and I don't believe they had anything but a singles deal with Columbia (so it's not on an album). And, all of it is the work of one man....John Davis!