I loved the song "You Are Everything" by The Stylistics when I was a young teen in the early 1970s. I liked a lot of their other songs, but that was my favorite. I'm still not sure why: I think it's something about the opening lyric, the idea of seeing someone on a street and mistaking them for someone you know, combined with the lead singer's voice and the other-worldly harmonies.
Yesterday I learned most of that, and more, about the Philadelphia Sound, because Thom Bell died at age 79. Bell is credited with creating the sound of groups like the Delfonics, the Spinners, and the O'Jays. Born in Jamaica, he had moved to Philly as a child and began singing with a number of acts, but had moved into producing by his early 20s. He continued to sing and play on the records he produced. His is one of the harmony voices on the recording of "You Are Everything," for instance, though he was not one of The Stylistics.
In the early 1970s, Bell began teaming up on songwriting with Creed, who was five years younger and also from Philadelphia. They cowrote many of The Stylistics' best-known hits, as well as several for the Spinners, over a short period. Creed was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26 (!) and died of the disease in 1986 when she was only 37 years old. Between the time she was diagnosed and her death, she wrote the lyrics for the song "The Greatest Love of All," which was first recorded by George Benson, then later by Whitney Houston. Houston's version reached number one a few weeks after Creed died.
It always amazes me that there are cultural works like these that I partially know about, or am even a fan of, but have never wondered who made them. I'm glad I know now, and that both Bell and Creed have been recognized by the people in their profession with memberships the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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The YouTube video of "You Are Everything" is here.
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