Philly Soul Classics

The Masterminds – Leon Huff (l): pianist, songwriter, producer and co-founder of Philadelphia International Records: Thom Bell (c): Philadelphia-based pianist, arranger, songwriter and producer
Kenny Gamble (r): singer, songwriter, producer and co-founder of Philadelphia International Records

The Philadelphia Sound pretty much ruled a good part of the 70s. The sound was revolutionary in that you had the traditional soul vocal stylings within a lush canvass of funky rhythms & sweeping, bad-ass strings & other exotic instrumentation. That sound defined a generation & became a forerunner not only for disco music (remember The Trammps “Disco Inferno”? – that was a Philadelphia International classic), but also of smooth jazz (Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum & Will Downing are but a few of the purveyors of the Philly groove) & was deeply influential on pop vocal arrangements & R&B rhythms (especially on the horn/string sections — Ceelo, Outkast & Raphael Saadiq are all disciples). The Masterminds of this groove were primarily Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (the latter two were recently given a Lifetime Achievement Award for their monumental contributions to the musical landscape).

Let’s face it: What is a romantic evening without “If You don’t Know Me By Now”, “Cry Together” & “You Are Everything”? In my estimation, the young folks of today want to go straight to R.Kelly’s “Feelin’ on Your Booty” without the poetry of “I’m Stoned In Love With You”. Let’s hope that this type of song writing comes back to dominate the scene & put the beauty back in our thoughts, relationships, Sunday afternoon drives and quiet evenings.

OneLove

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