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Dexter Wansel is a songwriter/arranger/producer/recording artist from Philadelphia. He was a contributor to the Philadelphia sound crafted by Gamble & Huff. His keyboard playing, arranging and songwriting can be heard in the music of Teddy Pendergrass, The Intruders and The O’Jays. As a songwriter he co-wrote “Nights Over Egypt” for The Jones Girls and Patti Labelle’s “If You Only Knew.” Between 1976 and 1979 he recorded three solo albums for the Philadelphia International label. “The Sweetest Pain” is a duet of Wansel and Jean Carne from his 1979 album Time Is Slipping Away. British R&B group Loose Ends covered the tune for their Zagora album in 1986. Wansel is credited with being one of the artists to bring esoteric ideas about space and the cosmos to R&B music with songs like “Life On Mars” and “Theme From The Planets.” Digital Groove World from 2004 was Wansel’s last recording. Hip-hop producer Pop Wansel, who has produced songs for Nicki Minaj, Big Sean and Trey Songz is his son.
