Friday Flashback: Bell & James

For some reason, "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" by Bell & James has been on my mind for the last few days. The duo consists of Philadelphia natives LeRoy Bell (drums/guitar) and Casey James (guitar/bass/keyboards), who both started with a local band called Special Blend, until the they disbanded. Bell's uncle, the legendary songwriter Thom Bell of Philadelphia International got them signed as songwriters for Gamble & Huff and they penned a number of hits for Elton John, MFSB, The O'Jays, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Freda Payne, Phyllis Hyman, The Three Degrees, and others.

In 1978, A&M Records took notice of their talents and singed them to a full deal. Their first album, the self titled Bell & James contained "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" the opening track from the LP that hit #7 on the U.S. Billboard Black singles, and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1979. It sold over one million copies in the U.S., plus the same track reached #59 in the UK Singles Chart.

Friday Flashback: The Spinners

For this episode of Friday Flashback, we take you back to the classic sounds of one of my all-time favorite singing groups, The Spinners [also known as The Detroit Spinners]. After a stint with both Tri-Phi Records and Motown, The Spinners would later sign to Atlantic Records at the suggestion of Aretha Franklin. Having not scored Top 10 hits with the previous labels, The Spinners began working with Philadelphia based producer and songwriter Thom Bell. Under the helm of Bell, The Spinners charted five top 100 singles (two of them top tens) from their first post-Motown album, Spinners (1972). "I'll Be Around", their first top ten hit and first million-selling record, was actually the B-side of their first Atlantic single, "How Could I Let You Get Away". "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" and "Ghetto Child" made their reputation concrete as one of the well respected vocal groups of the 1970's, along with Bell as a producer and songwriter.


Bobby Smith
(April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013)
Unfortunately, in the last few days, The Spinners lost their long time lead vocalist Bobby Smith, who fronted the majority of their music. On March 16th, he lost his battle with cancer while residing in Orlando, Florida. He will be laid to rest in his native Detroit, Michigan. I, personally am going to miss his smooth vocals. May he rest in peace!