BrownSuga’s sweet spot: The Philly Sound

“… that's when to be hot was cool. to care was correct. to be involved was without examination or explanation cause it was just the right thing to do to creatively express yourself while knowing who you and your people are

that's when everybody was young including the world we lived in and the people who oppressed us and everybody just kept hoping that if we all lived long enough to grow up maybe just maybe we would survive racism and maybe they would give it up and an older world would be safer and more hopeful and somehow younger than the young world we were living in

that's when we wore our bell bottoms and earth shoes and afros that reached the sky and the guys practically poured themselves into their jeans so that they moved slower while we had more physical mobility so we moved quicker and the media had begun warning black men about the "dangers" of loving black women…”

~Nikki Giovanni When Gamble & Huff ruled

In 1963 two men, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, began a relationship that would change a generation. It was then “The Philly Sound” was born. At a time when dreamers were being assassinated but people didn’t want the dream to die, something or someone had to remind them that though times are rough you’ve got to keep going.

“Wake up everybody no more sleepin in bed
No more backward thinkin time for thinkin ahead
The world has changed so very much
From what it used to be so
there is so much hatred war an' poverty”

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Wake Up Everybody

The Philly Sound was the sound of my parent’s generation and is defined as music with a beat that you can dance to. In the 60s and 70s blacks in America needed something they could be proud of, even if it’s only their music. And Gamble & Huff created a library of number one hits for that purpose. From the O’Jays to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the music created can still get people dancing.

When it came to music, I always would say that maybe I was born in the wrong generation but now I realize that isn’t true. My parents were born in the 50s and they raised children who, although born in the 70s and 80s, could appreciate The Philly Sound. So Gamble & Huff created a sound for my generation as well.

One particular story I found interesting about how and where they wrote their music is the story of “Me & Mrs. Jones”. At a diner they frequented they noticed a man their every day waiting. And everyday at the same time a pretty woman would join the man. They named the woman “Mrs. Jones” and a hit was created. Sung by Billy Paul in 1972 it stayed at the #1 spot for 3 weeks.

“We meet ev'ry day at the same cafe,
Six-thirty I know she'll be there,
Holding hands, making all kinds of plans
While the jukebox plays our favorite song.

Me and Mrs., Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones,
Mrs. Jones got a thing going on,
We both know that it's wrong,
But it's much too strong to let it cool down now.”

Billy Paul Me & Mrs. Jones

What some people don’t realize is that The Philly Sound was not Motown nor was it competition for Motown. Gamble & Huff loved and respected Motown but their music was different. And in the last decade their music is reaching out to a whole other generation. Donald Trump’s The Apprentice uses For the Love of Money by The O’Jays as their theme, a Gamble & Huff hit. Office Depot uses Rubberband Man by The Spinners. Nicolas Cage sings La-La Means I Love You by The Delfonics in the movie Family Man. One of the most frequently heard themes is for the television show Soul Train. The theme called TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) was the definition of Gamble & Huff.

Their music transcends generations and for that I am grateful. I can appreciate new music but my childhood was filled with the music of Gamble & Huff. As a family we danced and sang in the house, in the car in the market. If you’ve never heard their music they have over 170 gold and platinum albums. Below is just a small list of their music if you want a full list of the music these two legendary men created check out their site. Enjoy

Dee Dee Sharp – Ooh Child

The Intruders - I’ll Always Love My Mama (perfect to sing for May 13^th J )

The O’Jays – Backstabbers, Love Train, I Love Music, Family Reunion

The Stylistics – Break up to Make up, I’m Stone in Love with you, You make Me Feel Brand New, You’re a Big Girl Now, Betcha By Golly Wow…basically anything by the Stylistics