The Terry Gross Interview - Riding Philly's 'Love Train' With Gamble And Huff
Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and
Leon A. Huff (born April 8,
1942,
Camden, New Jersey) are an
American songwriting and record production team who have written and produced 15 gold
singles and 22 gold albums
They were pioneers of
Philadelphia soul and the in-house creative team for the
Philadelphia International Records label. On March 10, 2008, the team was inducted into
The Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category.
Kenneth Gamble's childhood in
Philadelphia shaped his adult life: he recorded himself on various arcade recording machines, assisted the morning show DJs on
WDAS, operated a record store, and sang with The
Romeos. In
1964, before there was "
Gamble & Huff" there was "Gamble &
Ross." Gamble was discovered and managed by
Jerry Ross when Gamble was only 17 years old and they collaborated for many years. Gamble teamed up with
Leon Huff (keyboards) for the first time on a recording for
Candy & The
Kisses. Ross then signed Gamble to
Columbia Records in
1963 as a solo recording artist, releasing "
You Don't Know What You Got Until You
Lose It". Gamble & Ross & Huff collaborated on the hit song "I'm
Gonna Make You Love Me", recorded by
Dee Dee Warwick and later by
Diana Ross & The Supremes and
The Temptations.
In
1967 they produced their first
Top 5 hit: "
Expressway to Your Heart" by
The Soul Survivors.
Working for
Atlantic Records, the team worked with
Archie Bell & the Drells,
Wilson Pickett,
Aretha Franklin,
Dusty Springfield, and
The Sweet Inspirations. They also produced
Mercury Records artists Jerry Butler and Dee Dee Warwick, scoring numerous hits along the way.
Philadelphia International
With a solid track record now behind them,
Gamble and Huff formed Philadelphia International Records in
1971 as a rival to
Berry Gordy and
Motown. They originally approached Atlantic Records, which passed on the deal as being too expensive.
CBS Records, headed at the time by
Clive Davis, backed the venture and distributed Philadelphia International's records. Aided and abetted by in-house arrangers
Thom Bell,
Bobby Martin (musician), and
Norman Harris, Philadelphia International released a number of the most popular soul music hits of the
1970's, including "
If You Don't Know Me by Now" by
Harold Melvin & the
Blue Notes, "
Back Stabbers", "
For the Love of Money", and "
Love Train" by the
O'Jays, and the Grammy-winning "
Me and Mrs. Jones" by
Billy Paul. According to an interview on
BBC Radio Four on June 28,
2006, Gamble and Huff were inspired to write "Me and Mrs. Jones" after seeing someone they knew who appeared to be involved in an affair, meeting a woman in a cafe frequented by the songwriters.
Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia soul sound evolved from the simpler arrangements of the late-1960s into a style featuring lush strings, thumping basslines, and sliding hi-hat rhythms—elements that soon became the distinguishing characteristics of a new style of music called disco. By
1975, Philadelphia International and the Philadelphia soul genre it helped define had largely eclipsed Motown and the
Motown Sound in popularity, and Gamble and Huff were the premiere producers of soul.
Nearly all of the Philadelphia International records featured the work of the label's in-house band of studio musicians,
MFSB (
Mother Father Sister Brother). MFSB cut a number of successful instrumental albums and singles written and produced by the Gamble & Huff team and arranged by Bobby Martin including the
1974 #1 hit, "
TSOP (
The Sound of Philadelphia)", now best known as the theme song from the
American television show,
Soul Train.
The musicians that made up the "in house" band MFSB were:
Earl Young - Drums
Karl Chambers - Drums
Charles Collins - Drums
Keith Benson - Drums
Quinton
Joseph - Drums
Larry Washington -
Bongo's - congas - percussion
Norman Harris -
Guitar and producer
Dennis Harris - Guitar
Roland Chambers - Guitar
Bobby Eli - Guitar
TJ Tindall - Guitar
Tony Bell - Guitar
Ronnie Baker -
Bass guitar
Michael “Sugar Bear” Foreman - Bass guitar
Bob Babbitt - Bass guitar
Winnie Wilford - Bass guitar
Jimmy Williams - Bass guitar
Leon Huff - piano and keyboards
Thom Bell piano and keyboards
Dexter Wansel -
Keyboards and synthesizers
Bruce Hawes - Keyboards
Victor Carstarphen Keyboards
Ron Kersey - keyboards
Harold Ivory Williams - Keyboards
Lenny Pakula -
Organ
Vincent Montana, Jr.- Vibraphone & producer of SalSoul
Orchestra
Don Renaldo and the MFSB
String &
Horn Sections