The Recording Academy Honors Gamble and Huff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Other Philly Faves - Page 3

At the same time G&H began a ten-year association with Philly R&B group the Intruders, who were fronted by their engagingly pitch-challenged lead singer "Little Sonny" Brown. Brown's voice and a firm rhythm section (which evolved into MFSB) gave the group their edge, which the group's smooth harmonies and Bobby Martin's string-and-horn arrangements simultaneously mitigated and emphasized. G&H and the Intruders had a minor hit with "(We'll Be ) United" in mid '66, but hit the big time in '68 with "Cowboys to Girls," a sweet coming of age tale living precariously at the end of Brown's upper register.

Itinerant writers and producers still, G&H whipped up hits for Archie Bell and the Drells (the infectious, choogling "I Can't Stop Dancing") and Wilson Pickett (the rousing "Engine Number 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You") for the Atlantic label, deep soul classics for Jerry Butler ("Never Give You Up," "Hey, Western Union Man," "Only the Strong Survive") for Mercury, and more soul for Joe Simon ("Drowning In the Sea of Love") for Spring.

By '71 G&H were tired of moving their tent from label to label and approached CBS president Clive Davis about a deal for an imprint of their own, to be distributed by CBS. Recalls Huff, "Clive was blown away by our talent, and it was a great move for us and them. Our company [Philadelphia International] really took off after we signed the O'Jays.

"I remember flying into Cleveland — a disc jockey had called to say 'Man there's a group in Cleveland that's raising hell' — so we took a flight out to Cleveland and went to see them at a club. They had lines around the corner. Those guys were tearing that club up. We stayed in Cleveland until we signed them. We took them back to Philadelphia and recorded and recorded and recorded."

With the O'Jays, and Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, the world of Gamble and Huff came together. In the '70s G&H scored ten No. 1 R&B and nine Top 40 pop hits with the O'Jays; four No. 1 R&B and four Top 20 hits with Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes. But more importantly, all the disparate elements of the G&H sound coalesced into something new: music with the aforementioned rhythmic muscle, melodic sophistication and orchestral leavening, combined with a newfound social and interpersonal awareness, all funneled through the great pipes of the O'Jays' Eddie Levert and the Bluesnotes' Teddy Pendergrass.

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