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‘After you listen, you’re cooler’: the incredible women of Philly Soul

March 20, 2021 by admin

Jim Farber


A
true music fan can recognise it the minute they hear it: the sound of Philadelphia International Records. It was a mixture of creamy strings, punching horns, snaking bass lines and fulsome melodies all combined to create something at once complex and light – a sonic soufflé fired by soul.

To singer Jean Carn, who recorded three albums for the label, “Philly Soul was even more than a sound. It was a genre,” she said. “How many labels can say they started a genre?”

From Soul Train to Beyoncé: the joy of black performance in America
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Fifty years ago, music industry veterans Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff pulled that off by producing a plethora of classic albums on the imprint they started, Philadelphia International Records. As a black-owned and -operated music company, the label picked up the gauntlet from Motown, applying its crossover strategy to a new decade, with a lush new sound to herald it. In its most successful ventures, Philly International erased music’s color line with songs everybody could dance to and hum while at the same time including enough socially aware lyrics to make sure everybody understood exactly who made these records and where they came from.

Still, not everything worked by the Motown plan. Unlike Berry Gordy’s company, Gamble and Huff’s venture enjoyed far more success with their male stars than their female ones. Lacking a distaff act with the enormous popularity of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Gladys Knight or Martha Reeves, the label scored most of their biggest hits with male acts like the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, Billy Paul and the solo Teddy Pendergrass. The only time they scored a top-five pop hit for a female act came when the Three Degrees cooed When Will I See You Again. Otherwise, Philly’s female artists enjoyed far more success on the American R&B charts than on the broader pop list. At the same time, the women of Philly Soul – including Carn, Dee Dee Sharp, Phyllis Hyman, the Jones Girls and the Three Degrees – created many of the label’s most adventurous recordings. For a short spell, Patti LaBelle also recorded for the label, but she enjoyed her biggest hits on Epic with the group Labelle, or with her solo work on MCA.

To throw a light on the underappreciated women of Philadelphia International Records for the label’s 50th anniversary, Legacy Recordings has just released a new remix of a hit from 1974, TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), cut by the label’s house band, MFSB and featuring the Three Degrees. The new version was created by Tracy Young who, in 2019, became the first woman to win a best remix Grammy, for Madonna’s I Rise.

None of the women who spoke to the Guardian about their time with Philly International blamed the label for their lack of superstar status. In fact, they all spoke about their time there as the peak of their careers.

“I learned so much about writing and producing from the best in the business,” said Shirley Jones, lead singer of the Jones Girls. “The label also helped me to become an activist.”

The first release by a female act on the label – the self-titled album by the Three Degrees – came two years and 12 albums into Philly International’s history. The Three Degrees experienced more hits in the UK than the US, including two gold albums and a hit single, Year of Decision. The lyrics to the single epitomized the label’s socio-political mission, told in its pointed entreaties to “open up your mind” and “leave the bad stuff behind”.

The trio’s initial success, and their chic presentation, painted them as Philly’s answer to the Supremes. But as Valerie Holiday made clear, “our sound was totally different. We were not interested in having just one main singer [like Diana Ross],” she said. “All three of us sang lead.”

Jean Carn: ‘Philly Soul was even more than a sound.’ Photograph: Don Hunstein/Sony BMG/Getty Images

As a result, Holiday believes, “our albums gave you a variety of sounds”. But there’s a striking difference in how they sounded live from their studio work. While the latter tended to be smooth, in concert their voices had a rawer, harder edge, evidenced by their live album from 1975, where they performed rousing takes on pop hits like Edgar Winter’s Free Ride and Elton John’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

(In 1977, Elton recorded his own tribute to Philly soul on his EP The Thom Bell Sessions, named for the city’s ace arranger/producer.)

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The label’s next female act, Dee Dee Sharp, made her debut for Philly in 1976 with the album Happy About the Whole Thing. Sharp, who scored doo-wop hits in the early 1960s like the No 1 song Mashed Potato Time, and who married Kenny Gamble in 1967, had a huge vocal range. Her Philly work gave her the chance to show it off in cuts like a highly theatrical cover of 10cc’s I’m Not in Love and a take on Terry Collier’s rapturous jazz ballad What Color Is Love.

“Dee Dee has this great throaty quality to her voice,” Carn said. “She places her attack at the back of the throat. Her male counterparts would be Percy Sledge or Jerry Butler. Technically, it’s a constriction of the chords so you get that great, guttural tinge to your notes. She also has a ballsy attitude when she sings – like, ‘Don’t mess with me!’”

Carn made her own debut for the label in 1977 with a self-titled work that stands as one of the company’s most sophisticated releases. She brought to it a wide range of influences, having previously recorded a series of jazz albums with her husband of the time, pianist Doug Carn.

“Initially, I recorded jazz, but since I was a little girl I sang everything from Italian arias to German lieder to French art song to pop,” she said. “I also played organ in church choirs from the time I was 12.”

Coming to Philly allowed her to work in the label’s patented style and to expand it, aided by ace arranger/artist Dexter Wansel, one of the company’s mainstays. “All of the tunes I did with him were experimental,” Carn said, which may explain why they sailed over the heads of most pop programmers.

Still, the first song on her debut, Free Love, written and produced by Jerry Butler, did become a hit in the discos. “That wasn’t by design,” Carn said. “The clubs just picked it up.”

Elements of Philly soul actually anticipated disco, with its fanciful swirls of strings and its danceable beats, though their take didn’t strictly conform to the genre. Regardless, clubs like Studio 54 played the Jones Girls’ song You’re Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else, helping to make it a top-40 pop hit, the group’s sole score on that chart. The trio of Jones sisters came to the label in 1979 after serving as backup singers for Diana Ross. It was Ross who pushed them to become their own act. As Jones explained: “She told us you’re too good to sing background.”

To prove it, Ross gave them a showcase in her show and then invited various labels to see them. Motown expressed interest but, at the time, Ross was battling with them so she steered the women towards Philly International instead. Like most of the Philly women, the Jones Girls did well on the R&B charts, scoring several top-10 hits without parallel success in pop. “Back then, pop was white and R&B was black,” she said. “It was as simple as that. Today, it’s all mixed up. If we came out today, with satellite radio and streaming and the internet, we would have reached a broader audience.”

Phyllis Hyman, who died in 1995. Photograph: Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

The last female artist released by the label, as well as its final artist overall – Phyllis Hyman – already had a decade-long track record on Buddha and Arista Records although her Philly releases rank among her greatest works. They expanded her status as a vocalist who was highly respected by her peers and by black audiences. But the fact that she never earned a pop hit gnawed at her. “She felt very underappreciated,” Carn said. She also had depression. “I saw those mood swings – everybody did.”

In 1995, Phyllis Hyman killed herself. “It was such a terrible waste,” Carn said. “What a talent. She should be here today and in command.”

Of course, Hyman’s albums live on, as does the deep catalogue of Philly International. “The label put together some of the greatest music of the 70s and 80s, and it transcended that time as well,” Jones said. “It’s still played the world over.”

According to Carn, the label also left a legacy of uplifting messages. “Kenny Gamble was like a griot, a town crier full of wisdom and motivation,” she said. “The music they made is like a positive form of brain-washing. Your consciousness is getting raised while you’re dancing so you don’t even know it’s happening. All you know is that after you listen you’re cooler.”

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Philadelphia International Records Celebrates Women’s History Month with a Tracy Young Remix of “TSOP”

March 17, 2021 by admin

Image Credit: Flyer

“People All Over the World,” get your virtual dancing shoes on! One of dance music’s most iconic melodies from the legendary Philadelphia International Records, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” which was composed by Gamble and Huff and recorded by the legendary MFSB featuring The Three Degrees, is getting a funky new makeover just in time for Women’s History Month! The chart-topping, Grammy-winning track was the memorable theme song for the legendary television show “Soul Train” from 1973-1975, with updated versions of the song used later as the show’s theme starting in 1987 until the show ended in 2006. 

Almost 50 years later, to celebrate this classic track Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has teamed up with internationally renown Grammy-winning producer/DJ/composer Tracy Young to create the groovy new remix, which is available on streaming platforms today, March 19.  Young has “Officially Remixed” for over 100+ musical artists, including 14 exclusively for Madonna, and has racked up over 60 #1 U.S. Billboard Dance Club Chart hits since 2000.

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STUDIO – Breakdance – TV Brand Spot from Brian Neong San on Vimeo.

Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff Celebrate 50 Years of Philadelphia International Records

March 9, 2021 by admin

Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff Celebrate 50 Years of Philadelphia International Records

The Songwriters Hall of Fame® salutes our 1995 inductees and Co-Chairmen (2015-2018), Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, on celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Philadelphia International Records.

While Gamble & Huff have been writing music together since 1963 with an immense catalog that has defined the “Philly Sound,” the record label they formed in 1971, along with key collaborator and “Mighty Three” songwriting partner Thom Bell, became the second-largest African-American owned music company, just behind Motown Records.

From the beginning, Philadelphia International Records began pumping out a uniquely rugged and sophisticated sound, and the list of Gamble and Huff hits that are tied to the label is voluminous. In the label’s first years, their roster of artists included The O’Jays, MFSB, The Ebony’s, The Intruders, McFadden & Whitehead, Lou Rawls, Dee Dee Sharp, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Jones and The Jones Girls, Third World, Archie Bell and The Drells and many more.

In 1976, Gamble and Huff produced and co-wrote songs for The Jacksons’ first two post-Motown albums. In the late 1970’s, they collaborated on a series of successful albums for Teddy Pendergrass, who became one of the top-selling solo singers of that time. Throughout the 1980’s they continued to pen hit songs for the top soul, pop and R&B artists, including Patti Labelle and Phyllis Hyman.

Over the last decades, Gamble & Huff’s award-winning partnership has generated more than 3,500 songs, including 50 chart pop and R&B hit singles and 75 RIAA gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications. Their catalog includes hits such as The Three Degrees’ “When Will I See You Again,” The Supremes’ “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” recorded by both Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and Thelma Houston, Jerry Butler’s “Only The Strong Survive,” which was later recorded by Elvis Presley, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” earned the songwriting duo its first Grammy® for Simply Red’s rendition, the O’Jay’s “For The Love Of Money,” and countless others, including “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” and the theme song for Soul Train, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia).” The pair has won five Grammy’s® for their songwriting and collected 86 BMI Pop and R&B Awards.

Kenneth Gamble (l) and Leon Huff (r) inducting Nile Rodgers at the 2016 SHOF Annual Awards Gala

SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said, “Gamble & Huff, just like Rogers & Hammerstein and Lennon & McCartney before them, created a template for Bernard and I that allowed us to run with a great deal of confidence into everything that was possible. They are incomparable, they are in my DNA. They represent songwriting excellence, they represent black excellence, they represent global excellence.”
“After getting to know the revered and legendary men behind The Philly Sound on a personal level as well as a professional one, I found that the words that best personify Gamble & Huff are wisdom, dignity, elegance, grace, majesty, powerful eminence and respect,” said SHOF president & CEO Linda Moran. “Kenny and Leon will always have a special place in my heart, and the SHOF, as well as the songwriting community, are blessed to have them as friends.”

SHOF president & CEO Linda Moran, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and SHOF Senior VP, BMI president & CEO Mike O’Neill
In 1993, Gamble & Huff were inducted into the Philadelphia Music Foundation’s Walk of Fame, and in 1999 the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) awarded them with the Trustees Award, honoring them for their body of work, both as producers and songwriters and for their contribution to the entire fabric of popular music. In 2005, they were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, in 2006 they were honored with the Ivor Novello Award by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, in 2008 they were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Ahmet Ertegun Award and in 2009 they were honored at the BMI Pop Icon Awards.

In 2014, Gamble & Huff were presented with the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award, which is the most prestigious award given by the SHOF.

2021 will be a pure celebration of the history of Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, and of the story of the duo who write songs “from the heart” that continue to be loved by people all over the world.