March
7
Gamble & Huff: The Love Train Of Philly Soul Keeps Adding More Passengers
The overdue induction of two architects of Philadelphia soul into the Rock and Hall of Fame syncs nicely with the 45th anniversary of the meeting of producer-songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
For the uninitiated, Gamble & Huff personified soul music in the 1970s, created a distinct energy and sultriness in the sound that crossed over consistently in the days of less regimented radio. They took the Motown model, which was crumbling as the label shifted to L.A. from Detroit, and extended it to encompass albums as well as singles on their Philadelphia International Records label. G&H made the soul equivalent of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” with the O’Jays’ “Ship Ahoy,” an album filled with lengthy, sonically shifting tracks that connected together thematically. Disco was their commercial downfall, but the best of their songs have not only aged gracefully, ther commercial vitality has become enhanced over time.
Sony BMG’s Legacy Recordings, which inked a deal with Gamble and Huff last year, is preparing to re-release their Philadelphia International recordings in droves. Gamble and Huff, being inducted Monday as non-performers in the Hall, have been tubthumping the catalog since Grammy week, when a reception for them attracted the likes of Jimmy Jam, Elvis Costello and Billy Paul as the party turned into a performance, demonstration and master class.
This week saw the release of a hits and misses packages: "The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits" features tracks by the O'Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Billy Paul, the Three Degrees and others; "Conquer The World: The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records" features lesser-known PIR artists such as Bunny Sigler, Ruth McFadden, the Soul Devaliants and Love Committee.
“One of the unique things about Gamble and me, we tailored (songs) for specific artists,” Huff says. “It was time to work for Billy Paul, time for the Three Degrees. Everything was specifically for a certain artist. The publishing company was called Tailor Made, that’s how specific it was.”
The doors opened by Cameo-Parkway, the first famous Philly record company in the rock era, were filled literally and figuratively by Gamble and Huff. Gamble credits the C-P model as a key to their structure; after their early success, Philadelphia Int’l purchased the building that housed Cameo-Parkway and made it the PIR headquarters.
“Cameo-Parkway really was a major force with Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp,” Gamble notes. “We grew up on that environment. Now, every time I go in, I swear I see the ghosts (of the former stars)."
As a teenager, Gamble worked in radio and sang with a group called the Romeos. He collaborated first with one Jerry Ross until he hooked with Huff and for awhile they worked as a trio, most famously penning “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” which Dee Warwick debuted and the Supremes and Temptations had a hit with.
Huff was a session pianist working mostly in New York. The duo had their first top 5 hit in 1967 with “Expressway to Your Heart” by the Soul Survivors, which helped them secure a number of producing and songwriting jobs with major soul stars.
Eventually they went looking for a major to back a label for them to run.
“We were fortunate to be with Columbia when Clive Davis was president,” Huff says. “He let us be independent producers so we could work with Dusty Springfield or Jerry Butler (for other labels). We signed a great deal, one that gave us the opportunity to be in control of our future. We had autonomy in the decision making; Clive was our distributor and promoted our product.
“We managed to keep control and now we’re blessed that we made the decisions to get into this business and that we knew (the business) before we started.”
That control has paid off remarkably well in recent years. NBC’s “The Apprentice” used their “For the Love of Money” as its theme; Coors has sold beer using “Love Train”; Jay-Z, Nelly and OutKast are among the artists who have recently sampled their work; and their songs have been widely used on “American Idol.”
Consider just the R&B No. 1’s on the new collection: The O’Jays’ “Love Train,” “Back Stabbers” and “Use Ta Be My Girl”; Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and “The Love I Lost”; T.S.O.P.’s “MFSB”; Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones”; People’s Choice’s “Do It Any Way You Wanna”; Lou Rawls’ “You’ll Never Find Another”; McFadden & Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”; Teddy Pendergrass’s “Close the Door”; and Patti Labelle’s If Only You Knew.”
“We were the first to come along as songwriters who retained control,” Huff says, “and that’s paying off now.”
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