Thom Bell, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer

Philly's musical connections are all over this year's Hall of Fame inductees

Thom Bell

Congrats to all the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees this year. If you haven’t noticed, the Rock hall is saluting some notable Philly musicians and a couple of Philly-by-association musicians whose connections are rich.

Ernest Evans, m/k/a Chubby Checker, has finally got the nod. Chubby came to stardom when he covered the B-side of a song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters to "Teardrops on Your Letter,” and set the teenage nation ablaze with “The Twist.”

Many dance craze songs came after: “Limbo Rock,” “Let’s Limbo Some More,” “Dance The Mess Around,” “The Fly,” “The Hucklebuck,” “Pony Time,” “Let’s Twist Again,” “Slow Twistin,” and “Popeye The Hitchhiker” (his take on Marvin Gaye’s ‘Hitchhike”). But it’s “The Twist” that’s been Checker’s enduring contribution to popular music.

In 2001 he placed an ad in Billboard Magazine addressing the Rock Hall, arguing his case to be inducted into the HOF. He wrote: “Chubby Checker is King of the way we dance worldwide since 1959.” Congrats, Chubby. The Geator would be smiling.

Another inductee this year (long overdue) is Warren Zevon. What was his Philly connection? During the early 80s, he lived in Philly with his then girlfriend, radio DJ Anita Gevinson. He lived in the Dorchester on Rittenhouse Square, and long before he hit with “Werewolves,” Philly radio embraced Zevon, particularly his brilliant 1976 self-titled sophomore album (often mistaken for his debut).

Inductee Cyndi Lauper’s Philly connections go back to the Fall of 1982, when Rob Hyman of The Hooters got a call from his University of Pennsylvania college roomate, producer and songwriter Rick Chertoff, who was about to produce Lauper’s debut album, and asked Hyman to get involved with the project. According to WSJ, Lauper, Chertoff, Hyman and Hyman’s partner in The Hooters, Eric Bazilian, all began working together on the album in Philly. The now timeless “Time After Time,” was co-written by Hyman with Lauper. Another song, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” was written by Philly rocker Robert Hazard (RIP), and Hyman and Bazilian figured prominently in the performing and arranging on the album.

The legendary songwriter, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist Thom Bell passed away in 2022 and is finally getting the HOF treatment this year in the Musical Excellence Award category. A foundational force in what would become “The Sound of Philadelphia,” Bell wrote and co-wrote, produced and/or arranged hundreds of songs that are in the R&B and soul canon. Born in Jamaica, he moved to Philly when he was four, was classically trained, and after working as an arranger and session writer at Cameo records (he told Fresh Air that as a teenager he was a conductor and arranger for Chubby Checker), he started to work with a local group, The Delfonics, producing and co-writing their biggest hits, including “La-La Means I Love You.”

A glance at Bell’s resume reveals a remarkable and rich body of song. From his work with The Delfonics, his songwriting partnership with Linda Creed and the songs they wrote for The Stylistics, his production and songwriting with The Spinners and the iconic material he collaborated on with Philly International legends Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, Thom Bell was an undeniable force in soul music.