Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. It was known for showcasing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as Philly soul) that was founded on the gospel, doo-wop and soul music of the time. This sound later marked a prominent and distinct era within the R&B genre.[1] During the 1970s, the label released a string of worldwide hits that emphasized lavish orchestral instrumentation, heavy bass and driving percussion.
Philadelphia International Records had been mostly defunct since 1987 and finally shut down in 2001. As of 2007, Sony Music Entertainment owns all rights to the Philadelphia International Records catalogue.[3]
Beginning and success
Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the founders of Philadelphia International Records, met in 1964 while they were both playing as session musicians for various labels, including Philadelphia based Cameo-Parkway Records, whose building would later become home to Philadelphia International Records' recording studio. In 1965, Huff joined Gamble's band, the Romeos, a popular moniker at the time, by replacing future Philadelphia International Records producer and arranger Thom Bell on piano. Gamble and the Romeos had seen little success playing for their label, Arctic Records, and split up soon after.
When the Romeos disbanded, Gamble and Huff started one of the first iterations of Philadelphia International Records (which they named Excel and Gamble) after a visit to Motown Records in Detroit to scope out the Motown setup. The success of their biggest signing, the Intruders, brought attention to Gamble and Huff allowing them to create Neptune Records in 1969. Neptune Records, a more ambitious project for the duo, was financed by Chess Records; thus they were able to sign later Philadelphia International Records artists the O'Jays and the Three Degrees.
When Chess Records changed ownership in 1969, Neptune Records folded. Gamble and Huff transferred their signed artists to a new project, Philadelphia International Records.[4] Looking to attract new black acts to their label, but without the in-house knowhow, Columbia Records was convinced to sign an exclusive production contract with Gamble and Huff's new Philadelphia International Records.[5] The label was set up in connection with Mighty Three/Assorted Music, the music publishing company which was run by Gamble, Huff, and Thom Bell, a Philadelphia producer, to showcase their songs.
The label had a distribution deal with CBS Records until 1984. Distribution of the catalog from 1976 onward was taken over by EMI Records, but CBS continued to distribute material which was recorded up to 1976. In 2007, Sony's Legacy Recordings regained the rights to Philadelphia International's full catalog and the following year, PIR/Legacy released a box set titled Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia.[6]
Most of the music which was released by the label was recorded and produced at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, with chief engineer and later studio owner Joe Tarsia recording many of the sessions.[7] More than 30 resident studio musicians, known collectively as MFSB ("Mother Father Sister Brother"), were based at this studio and backed up most of the recordings.[5] Some of the musicians also acted as arrangers, writers, or producers for Philadelphia International as well as for other labels recording in the city. They included Bobby Martin,[8][9]Norman Harris, Thom Bell, Ronnie Baker, Vince Montana and, later, Jack Faith, Dexter Wansel, and John Usry.
Gamble and Huff worked as independent producers with a series of artists in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Jerry Butler, Wilson Pickett, and Dusty Springfield. They also produced the Jacksons' first two albums for Epic/CBS after the group left Motown in 1976. The first, titled The Jacksons, featured the platinum-selling single "Enjoy Yourself", and a second album, Goin' Places, followed in 1977. Although they were released on a CBS subsidiary, Epic, both albums and the singles also had a Philadelphia International logo.
In 1965, Gamble and Huff started an independent label, Excel Records. It was soon renamed Gamble Records and in 1972, was folded into Philadelphia International as a subsidiary. In 1974, the subsidiary's name was changed to TSOP Records, taken from the title of the 1974 hit single "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia". Artists for Excel/Gamble/TSOP included Dee Dee Sharp, Archie Bell & the Drells, and the People's Choice who had a top 10 single on TSOP in 1976 with "Do It Any Way You Wanna". Later signings to the Philly International roster in the 1980s and 1990s included Patti LaBelle, the Stylistics, Phyllis Hyman, and the Dells.
Between 1973 and 1975, Gamble and Huff also distributed a boutique label called Golden Fleece, set up by musicians Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Earl Young, which released the second album by the Trammps. Gamble and Huff also launched a short-lived subsidiary called Thunder Records. Created by Thom Bell, it only had two singles: Derek & Cyndi's "You Bring Out the Best in Me/I'll Do the Impossible for You", which was produced by Bell, and Fatback Band member Michael Walker's "I Got the Notion, You Got the Motion", produced by his brother and Spinners member Philippe Wynne.[10]
Later period
By the mid-1980s, Philadelphia International Records had ended the distribution deal that they had with Columbia. The label was soon after picked up by Capitol/EMI Records. They continued to make hits, including Shirley Jones' "Do You Get Enough Love", but their most successful years were behind them. In the 1990s, Philadelphia International launched a new subsidiary, Uncensored Records. Featuring Damon and No Question, the label releases hip hop music. Philadelphia International now largely concentrates on licensing its music catalog worldwide and has issued few new recordings since the mid-1980s when Gamble and Huff wound down their studio work together.
In November 2009, PBS aired a two-part special, Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia, that focuses on Gamble and Huff and the family of Philadelphia International Records artists. The concert was shot with a live audience on June 7, 2008 at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City; it showcased TSOP artists.
In February 2010, fire swept through part of the offices on Philadelphia's Broad Street. The building was previously the home of another iconic part of the city's musical heritage, Cameo-Parkway Records, based there during the 1950s and 1960s; it had become a tourist attraction. The fire was started deliberately by a man who had broken into the offices while so intoxicated by alcohol that he had no later recollection of the crime.[13]
In August 2011, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the company, Philadelphia International Records launched TSOP Soul Radio, an online radio station that airs music and interviews from the Gamble and Huff catalog.
The building that housed Philadelphia International Records located on Broad and Spruce Streets was damaged by arson in 2010 and effectively was shut down. It was sold to local developer Dranoff Properties in 2014. On April 18, 2015, demolition started on the building. Dranoff Properties announced plans to build an SLS International Hotel at the site of the building.[14] It is now home to the 47-story Arthaus Condominiums, where there is a tribute to Philadelphia International Records on display in the lobby.
Gamble and Huff have written more than 3,000 songs throughout their careers, making them two of the most efficient and productive songwriters of all time. They continue to write songs together from their homes in South Philadelphia.[15]
Philly soul
Philadelphia soul, or Philly soul, is a form of soul music that emanated from Philadelphia during the mid-1960s. It provided a smoother alternative to the deep soul of the 1960s while maintaining the soul and emotion of popular R&B of the time.[16] Philadelphia International Records was one of the most successful labels to capitalize on this new genre with acts such as the O'Jays and Teddy Pendergrass.
Philly soul is known for its incorporation of lush string arrangements along with penetrating brass, and often tells very personal and emotional stories. The world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra's string section was often employed to play on many of Philadelphia International Records' tracks.[17] Philly soul is often considered a producer's genre, the essence of the genre coming mostly from Gamble, Huff, Bell, and the other producers within PIR. Philly soul, with its driving rhythms, later became an inspiration for the disco craze of the 1970s.
Discography
Catalog numbers from 1971 to 1985 are part of CBS Records' overall numbering system, and therefore are discontinuous. Albums released from 1986-1990 were part of Capitol/EMI catalog numbering system. Catalog numbers for albums released after 1991 are from Philadelphia International's distribution deal with Zoo Entertainment.
Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The genre laid the groundwork for the emergence of disco later in the 1970s by fusing the R&B rhythm sections of the 1960s with the pop vocal tradition and featuring a more pronounced jazz influence in its melodic structures and arrangements. Fred Wesley, trombonist with the J.B.'s and Parliament-Funkadelic, described the Philadelphia soul sound as "putting the bow tie on funk."
MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.
McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff record label, Philadelphia International Records.
Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre of the 1970s. In addition to forming their own label, Philadelphia International Records, Gamble and Huff have written and produced 175 gold and platinum records, earning them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category in March 2008.
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" is a 1974 recording by MFSB featuring vocals by The Three Degrees. It was written by Gamble and Huff as the theme for the American musical television program Soul Train, which specialized in African American musical performers. The single was released on the Philadelphia International Records label. It was the first television theme song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Back Stabbers is a studio album by Philadelphia soul group the O'Jays, released in August 1972 on Philadelphia International Records and the iTunes version was released and reissued under Epic Records via Legacy Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972.
Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre. Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, and a string of albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Double Exposure is an American, Philadelphia-based disco group. They are best known for their 1976 hit, "Ten Percent".
Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia.
Norman Ray Harris was an American guitarist, producer, music arranger and songwriter, closely associated with Philly soul. He was a founding member of MFSB, the Philadelphia studio band, and one of the Baker-Harris-Young record production trio.
A Brand New Me is the sixth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield, released in 1970.
Walter "Bunny" Sigler was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.
Earl Donald Young is a Philadelphia-based drummer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as part of the Philly Soul sound. Young is best known as the founder and leader of The Trammps who had a hit record with "Disco Inferno". Young, along with Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris, was the owner of the Golden Fleece record label.
The Assembled Multitude was an instrumental ensemble, consisting entirely of studio musicians, which music producer Tom Sellers organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1970. The "Multitude" released a self-titled album on the Atlantic Records label in 1970, which included interpreted versions of songs such as "Woodstock", "Ohio", "MacArthur Park", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and The Who's "Overture" from Tommy. The last of these was released as a single and reached No. 16 on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart.
MFSB is the debut album by Philadelphia International Records houseband MFSB, released in 1973.
Bobby Eli was an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB.
Thomas Joshua Tindall was an American guitarist. He was a member of MFSB and played on 38 gold and platinum funk and R&B records and more than 30 hits produced by Gamble and Huff in the 1970s and 1980s. Tindall is considered one of the architects of the Philadelphia Sound. He was inducted twice into the Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame as a member of MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra.
The Sweethearts of Sigma, sometimes known simply as The Sweethearts or The Sweeties, were an American female vocal trio comprising Carla Benson, Evette Benton and Barbara Ingram. Primarily backing vocalists, they sung backup on many recordings made in Philadelphia, especially in the 1970s.
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