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/ Gamble and Huff

April 15, 2024 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Earl Young Groove Machine

Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell might have been The Mighty Three, but dozens of musicians joined them in shaping The Sound of Philadelphia.  That triumvirate's lush, lithe productions were brought to life by the loose aggregation of players known as MFSB, or the house band at Sigma Sound Studios.  These are the same musicians who went on to form The Salsoul Orchestra under the baton of Vincent Montana, Jr., including Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Bobby Eli, Ron Kersey, Lenny Pakula,

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Archie Bell and the Drells, B.B. King, Double Exposure, Dusty Springfield, Earl Young, Eddie Holman, Gamble and Huff, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Loleatta Holloway, New York City, The Delfonics, The O'Jays, The Spinners, Thom Bell, William DeVaughn

March 7, 2022 By Joe Marchese 10 Comments

VMP Philadelphia Intl Anthology

The legacy of Philadelphia International Records is as mighty as the famous three men most associated with the label: co-founders and songwriter-producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and songwriter-producer-conductor-arranger Thom Bell.  The three men didn't do it alone, though; the PIR story involves the dozens of talented artists, musicians, songwriters, producers, and arrangers who passed through the doors of engineer Joe Tarsia's Sigma Sound Studios on North 12th Street in Philadelphia,

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Box Sets, Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Billy Paul, Dexter Wansel, Gamble and Huff, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Leon Huff, Lou Rawls, MFSB, The O'Jays, The Three Degrees, Thom Bell

September 14, 2021 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

VMP Philadelphia Intl Anthology

Sony Music's celebration of Philadelphia International Records' 50th anniversary has so far encompassed a new, vinyl-only series of hits collections as well as the first two releases in the ongoing complete albums series of CD box sets from the U.K.'s Snapper/United Souls label.  Now, a major component of the golden anniversary celebration for the house that Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff built has been announced by the Vinyl Me, Please record club. VMP Anthology: The Story of Philadelphia

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Billy Paul, Dexter Wansel, Gamble and Huff, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, MFSB, Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays, The Three Degrees

July 2, 2021 By The Second Disc Leave a Comment

Stream

While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we've introduced a new feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! And today's is a bit super-sized,

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Categories: The Weekend Stream Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Donna Summer, Fleetwood Mac, Gamble and Huff, Lionel Richie, Lou Rawls, McFadden and Whitehead, Meco, Michael Jackson, Nas, Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, The Art of Noise, The Jacksons, The O'Jays, The Roots, The White Stripes

May 25, 2021 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Best of Philadelphia International

The Philadelphia International Records 50th anniversary campaign kicks off this Friday, May 25, with the release of Get on Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol. 1 from the U.K. Snapper Music label's United Souls imprint.  The 8-CD hardcover book-style box presents the first eight albums released on PIR, and the series will eventually encompass every one of PIR's LPs on CD. On the domestic front, Legacy Recordings issues its first anniversary release this

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Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Billy Paul, Gamble and Huff, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, The Intruders, The O'Jays, Thom Bell

March 20, 2021 By The Second Disc Leave a Comment

Stream

While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we're introducing a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Duran

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Categories: Features, The Weekend Stream Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock Tags: Duran Duran, Gamble and Huff, Madonna, The Who

April 3, 2018 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

MFSB Definitive Collection

MFSB - a.k.a. Mother, Father, Sister, Brother (or a rather more off-color series of four words, depending on whom you ask) - remains one of the all-time great aggregations of studio musicians, right up there with The Funk Brothers, The Wrecking Crew, and The Nashville Cats.  The legacy of the Philadelphia International group has just been celebrated by Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint on a new 2-CD, 32-track anthology entitled The Definitive Collection. The talented, versatile musicians at the

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Gamble and Huff, MFSB, The Three Degrees, Thom Bell

July 13, 2017 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Nothing But a House Party

What is the sound of Philadelphia?  As Kent Records' exciting compilation Nothing But a House Party: The Birth of The Philly Sound 1967-1971 readily admits, there were many such sounds - the sound of teen idols Fabian and Frankie Avalon; of "South Street" and "The Mashed Potato" and Cameo-Parkway Records; of the doo-wop of The Dreamlovers, and before that, of Italian-American singers like Mario Lanza and Al Martino.  But the sound of Philadelphia referenced here is the one with capital letters -

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Archie Bell and the Drells, Gamble and Huff, Jerry Butler, The Delfonics, The Intruders, Thom Bell, Various Artists

March 30, 2016 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

OJays Back Stabbers

The O'Jays quietly began their association with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff on 1970's Neptune album In Philadelphia, announcing the Ohio group's shift to the City of Brotherly Love and its burgeoning soul scene.  But there was nothing quiet about the opening track of Back Stabbers, the trio's first album for Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International Records.  "When the World's at Peace," by Gamble, Bunny Sigler and Phil Hurtt, imagined a time "when it's safe to walk the streets/when we learn

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Categories: Reviews Formats: Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Gamble and Huff, The O'Jays, Thom Bell

January 29, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

dick jensen dick jensen

When Dick Jensen was signed to ABC’s Probe Records label in 1969, only one album title seemed appropriate: White Hot Soul.  The Hawaiian-born entertainer’s stage moves earned him comparisons to James Brown and Jackie Wilson, while his voice recalled the booming sonorities of Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck.  Tucked away on Side Two of that Don Costa-produced LP, Jensen included The Soul Survivors’ “Expressway to Your Heart” as part of a medley.  That 1967 Top 5 hit, of course, was written by

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Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Dick Jensen, Gamble and Huff, Thom Bell

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