Letter of the Day | Why no national recognition for Thom Bell?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Persons in authority and those with social capital, those hegemonic power bearers in Jamaica have always amazed me. I refer in particular to those who select or nominate persons for the national awards. The select committee seems blinded at times as to who are truly deserving of national awards. There are so many who have served this nation, yet I have never heard their names called for awards. One only has to look around at those who were community giants and are today bereft of the national awards such as the great Canadian Baptist missionary Rev Dr J.W. Knight of SW St Ann; the great Irish pastor and medical doctor, Dr Kennedy of the Tabernacle Churches in St Ann; Rev Dr Aaron Dumas and the great community doctor, CC Jones of the Hagley Park Road community. There is one other Jamaican who has not been named for our national awards; internationally distinguished, cultural icon – the late Thom Bell, co-creator of the Philadelphia Soul Music. Composer, arranger, songwriter, singer, pianist and soul music producer, he was an important part of popular music and popular culture.

NATIONAL ANTHEMS OF SOUL

Whoever listened to the radio in the late 1960s, 1970s and up to the 1980s, especially RJR, would have been treated to the melody of various artistes singing songs written, arranged and composed by Jamaica-born Thom Bell along with Gamble and Huff on the record or LP labels. Bell was (along with Gamble, Huff and Linda Creed ) the co-creator of the orchestrated “Sound of Philadelphia” style of soul music. Persons who are deep in pop culture literature knew that Bell was not American but a native of Jamaica, a son born and bred in “Kingston town”. Surely, someone in the cultural industry or in the intellectual circle must have been aware that this great creator of the Philly Sound was a son of Jamaica?Bell’s songs were like the national anthems of soul – La – La (means I Love You) by the Delfonics in 1968; Didn’t I Blow Your Mind, This Time by the Delfonics in 1970; all-time pop favourite Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart, by the Stylistics in 1971; Betcha By Golly Wow by the Stylistics; Could It Be I am Falling In Love. He also wrote for other famous groups like the The O’jays, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, The Spinners, Dusty Springfield and Jerry Butler. The songs he wrote, composed and arranged were worthy as collectibles, and gifts to loved ones.

While Bob Marley was busy introducing reggae to his international audience, Thom Bell had a market of millions in all regions of the USA, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. His creation and signature on Soul will be with us just like the music from Mozart, Chopin, Strauss, Beethoven, Handel or Bach. It is time the persons in position in this country get rid of their biases, nepotism and political preferences and do a good job of selecting those worthy for awards. There are too many citizens who have served this country (much more than many awarded over the years with national honours) who have been sidelined and ignored. Yes, Bob Marley and Millie Small may have introduced Jamaican music to the world but Thom Bell created American music heavily consumed by Jamaicans and the world for decades.

WINSTON DONALD