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When discussing great songwriting teams of the 20th century, Philadelphia soul music pioneers Leon Gamble and Kenneth Huff rank right at the top along with the likes of Leiber and Stoller, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and Lennon and McCartney. Composing and producing classics for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, and more, the duo has blazed a path that most would envy. Their collaborative energy was a truly productive and potent combination. “The songwriting teams [were] pretty much how the old pros did [it],” explains Gamble. “You feed off of each other, and [what] you [each] bring to the table.”

While Gamble, a native Philadelphian, and Huff hailing from nearby New Jersey, founded Philadelphia International in the hopes of bringing a new sound to the airwaves, they simultaneously forged deep ties in the City of Brotherly Love. “Philly was perfect for me,” says Huff. “I didn’t have to do nothing but go across the bridge. Gamble found success in the town where he grew up, [and] that’s a helluva thing. I didn’t have to move to California or anywhere else, I just came right across the bridge.”

Gamble adds, “The same way that Memphis built a music environment, [and] Detroit built a music environment, we pretty much built an environment here with the Philly sound.”

That Philly sound transcends race and era, and with their recent Lifetime Achievement Grammys and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Gamble and Huff’s legacy is cemented, they thoughtfully offered this advice for the up-and-coming. “As much as you can, try to control your own creative process,” counsels Gamble. “You’ve got to be able to make your own decisions. That was a tremendous asset to us. We had complete autonomy [because] we brought something to the table that [then-label] CBS had no idea about at the time. We brought the whole African American community to the table.” -tony binns

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