Philly soul giant Dexter Wansel dies at 75

 

(June 2, 2026) He was an unheralded musical giant, who quietly shaped both soul and jazz music in the 1970s as part of the stable of great Philadelphia artists, songwriters and producers. Tonight we mourn the passing of Dexter Wansel. Legendary singer Shirley Jones of The Jones Girls shared the bad news, which was previously reported by Philly radio station WDAS.

Dexter Wansel is known to some as Philly keyboardist who released a number of moderately successful albums in the 70s including most notably Life on Mars and Voyager.  His love of advanced technology and the fusion of rock, soul, dance and jazz led to a number of interesting pieces that drew for him a small but loyal following.  However, Wansel is likely more notable for the great contribution he made to the Philly Sound, particularly in the “second act” of the Philadelphia International Records label in the early 80s.

Wansel met PIR founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff while he was the leader of the group Yellow Sunshine.  He signed on as a session keyboardist at G&H’s Philadelphia International Records and began his climb within the organization during the late 70s.  His creative, luscious arrangements and strong production led to increasingly important projects within the organization, including albums by the Jacksons, Lou Rawls, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Pendergrass and MFSB (the house band at PIR, for which Wansel served as conductor).  And his songwriting may have been even better.  Along with regular songwriting partner Cynthia Biggs, he penned numerous classic Soul songs ranging from “Nights Over Egypt” for the Jones Girls to the haunting “Hurry Up This Way Again” for the Stylistics. 

By the early 80s, the consistency of Wansel’s compositions had arguably surpassed Gamble and Huff, and much of the best output of PIR during the 80s was modestly anchored by gorgeous Wansel ballads like “I Really Need You Now” (sung by the O’Jays), “You’re Leaving” (the Stylistics) and perhaps his most revered composition, “If Only You Knew” (Patti LaBelle).

In the 90s, as PIR was crumbling, Wansel stayed around, helping on a number of compilations and the scant new projects that came around.  He also did some outside arranging, such as on three discs by Gospel harpist Jeff Majors.  His last major work at PIR was putting together 2003’s controversial O’Jays compilation, Together We Are One.  Like many at PIR, he never received public attention or credit commensurate with his significant contributions, but to those in the Soul Music world he was known as one of the great songwriters, producers and arrangers of his era.

 

In late 2004, nearly two years removed from the end of his stint at PIR, Wansel quietly recorded and self-released his first solo album in over a decade.  Digital Groove World was a mostly instrumental album, but Wansel’s love of technology and his unusual, often unexpected arrangements make Digital Groove World a little loopier and a lot more interesting than a typical smooth jazz disc.  After that album, Wansel was quiet on the recording front for 17 years, returning in 2021 with the thematic album, The Story of the Flight Crew To Mars 

On April 12 of this year, Wansel was honored in London with the show “Dexter Wansel & Friends celebrate MFSB and the Sound of Philadelphia,” featuring Philly greats Jean Carn and Shirley Jones of The Jones Girls and a 33 piece orchestra. Because of Dexter’s illness, McKinley Jackson was brought in to help conduct the show, which rightly gave tribute to this all-time great writer, producer and artist.

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff expressed their condolences: “Dexter Wansel brought a new age sound to our record label Philadelphia International Records in the 1970’s and 80’s arranging and producing hits for many of our artists such as The Jacksons, The Jones Girls, Jean Carne, MFSB including hits for himself. Dexter’s synthesizer and symphonic keyboard sounds were iconic. Dexter’s hit song ‘Nights Over Egypt’ with the Jones Girls, as well as his own hit song ‘Life on Mars’ were unmatched unique sounds for the label. In addition, Dexter’s prolific songwriting with his long-time writing partner Cynthia Biggs, who worked with Teddy Pendergrass and others, made them one of the most sought-after writing teams in our publishing company.  Most importantly, Dexter was our dear friend, protege and great contributor to the Sound of Philadelphia.  We send our sincere condolences to his wife Judy and Family.”

Further, Wansel’s wife Judy and their family issued the following statement: “We wish to express our gratitude for the outpouring of condolences we are receiving for our loved one, GRAMMY winner and one of the architects of the Sound of Philadelphia, Dexter Wansel. He’s at peace now.”

Dexter Wansel will be remembered by millions of fans around the world for his ambitious, creative sound that helped shape soul and jazz music for a generation. And he will be greatly missed.