Ed Gordon talks with music producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, founders of "Philadelphia International Records," about their 35 years in the business and their efforts to revitalize South Philadelphia.
ED GORDON, host: It's been 35 years since music producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff teamed up to create the recording company, Philadelphia International Records. Their signature touch has been behind the success of an impressive list of musicians, including the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and Lou Rawls.</s>ED GORDON, host: Their iconic music became the sound of a generation in the 70s and 80s. I spoke with the producing duo, whose classic songs include For The Love of Money, You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine), and Love Train.</s>ED GORDON, host: Kenny Gamble said he never imagined the Philly sound would rival Motown.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Motown really was the blueprint for Philly International. In fact, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland, all of those wonderful people at Motown, they were the inspiration for myself and Huff to let us know that it could be done.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Their business model - of a competitive group of a writers and producers working to come up with the best songs for a particular artist - we used that model from Motown. Even down to they had the Motown sound, we even called it the Philly sound.</s>ED GORDON, host: You can see your music and hear it everywhere with the theme song for the Apprentice, the O'Jays' For The Love of Money. A few commercials, including the Coors commercial that everybody, particularly during football season, can't get away from - and here comes Love Train coming through with the O'Jays blasting. That must be a big kick for you guys I would think.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): That's fantastic that I'm seeing the music all over the place. It's like a rebirth and I'm really getting a thrill out of really listening to the music, being exposed right now.</s>Unknown singers for Jay-Z: (singing) You belong to the city, you belong to the night. In the river of darkness, he's the man of the night</s>JAY-Z (Rap Artist): What ya tell…</s>ED GORDON, host: I'd love to get a sense from both of you how and where you see music today. I mean your music is sampled by some of the greatest of the great today - Jay-Z, Nelly and others. But there is also a sense of true musicianship -across the board - today being lost. And I know that you all are first and foremost are musicians and producers. So I want to get a sense of what you think about music today.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Well, I think music today is like it was at any time. I think it's a reflection - especially when the people kind of down the new artists today -they got to think of, you know, just the writers and producers. What we write about is what society is like. And we're very happy that the young producers are sampling our music. In fact, if any of them are listening, would you please to sample some more? We love…</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): It's beautiful to be a part of this, you what I mean? You know, cause we wrote songs about the time we were living in, you know, in the early 70s we were coming off the civil rights movement. So today it's a different focus in our society. You know, and we can learn from what's happening with the music.</s>ED GORDON, host: Let me ask what you guys do. Leon, I'm told that you can't stay away from a piano. So I'm curious. Do you play every day and do you itch to get back in the studio in a more regular way?</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): I'm a doing a contemporary album called To Swing is the Thing. In fact, I'm trying to finish is up now. And you're right, I play - not as much as I used to - but I can't go without playing that piano for about two or three days. I got to get back to it. It's my blood, it's in, you know, I got to do it. You know, it's like medicine, you got to take it. Going into the studio, it's like breathing to me.</s>ED GORDON, host: Kenny, what about you?</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Well, hey, I love the studio and the music and sometimes, you know, you got to look at yourself and say, you know, special projects, maybe we could do that. But to get back in that rat race again, like we was in before, I don't think we could… I tell you, we look back on it now, you know, Huff and I, we talk and we say, how in the world did we do it?</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): The O'JAYS (vocal group): (Singing) Don't you know that it's time to get on board. And let this train keep on riding, riding on through. Well, well. People all over the world (you don't need no money). Join hands (come on). Start a love train, love train (don't need no ticket, come on) Let it ride.</s>ED GORDON, host: One of the things that I know you want to do is take care of some of the old school R and B artists that haven't had the opportunity to reap in the kinds of riches that many know today. And you want to bring the foundation, the R and B Foundation, and also revitalize the real R and B sound out of Philadelphia. Tell me how you want to do that.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): The Rhythm and Blues Foundation, they asked me to be on the board of directors about three years ago. And I think that their mission is one that's very noble and needs to be supported. We took the model that happened in Nashville many years ago with the Country Music Association.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): And so we invited the Rhythm and Blues Foundation to move to Philadelphia, which they did. We got tremendous support from the state and the city, and our goal and objective is to make Philadelphia the home for rhythm and blues. In other words, there's other places that have their history in rhythm and blues, but we're giving - rhythm and blues music is not being promoted, it's not being protected.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): Our interest is how do we market and promote the legacy of rhythm and blues music. It's the history of a country, it's the history of a people that you're dealing with.</s>ED GORDON, host: What's remarkable to me about the music that you made - and unfortunately, I think we've gone away from that and I'd love to see it come back - the idea that - and it's a name of one of your songs, Message in Our Music - that that was very important to you guys when you put this music out. That it went beyond the great love music that made, but also you passed a message along.</s>ED GORDON, host: The O'JAYS: So we're going to talk about, all the things that's been going down (going down, going down). Get your information from this means of communication.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): The message, you know, a positive message about the community, making it better, a better place for everybody to, you know, to live. That's always been our feeling about writing songs. Communicating to the masses about social issues was always important to us.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): Much of the messages was like clean up the ghetto and wake up everybody. These songs, they're still around today. And we're trying to do a lot of that in much of the work that's happening in South Philadelphia. By rebuilding neighborhoods, and rebuilding the infrastructure of the African-American community.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): What we have done is taken a portion of South Philadelphia and renovated many of the blighted houses. And we're expanded now into doing rebuilding of schools. Because most of the schools in the African-American community are deplorable. We're building a school in Camden, New Jersey, and we're building a school in Philadelphia.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): In doing so, we've taken a neighborhood that was, for all intents and purposes, this neighborhood was dead. It was full of nothing but crack houses, prostitution and all these different things that plague our communities. But the investment that was made has turned this neighborhood around, and we're really proud that we had a role in making it happen.</s>ED GORDON, host: We salute you guys and thank you for everything, and it's always good to talk to you both.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Thank you, Ed.</s>Mr. LEON HUFF (Music Producer): Thank you.</s>Mr. KENNY GAMBLE (Music Producer): Thank you very much.</s>ED GORDON, host: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff founded Philadelphia International Records 35 years ago.</s>ED GORDON, host: I'm Ed Gordon. This is NEWS & NOTES.