The Groove
Saturday February 29th, 2020 with ELORIOUS CAIN
BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION OF THE SOPHISTICATED SOUL MOVEMENT PART 5 - PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL (THE DISCO)

This is the second of two shows about the PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL group of labels. This playlist offers a picture of LEON HUFF. He, together with KENNY GAMBLE, was the producer, song writer, label owner and arranger that created one of the most distinctive and influential sounds in the world. Remarkable artists like BILLY PAUL, HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES, THE THREE DEGREES, TEDDY PENDERGRASS and THE OJAY'S would not have become undeniable music icons on every continent without the musical vision of that amazing duo. GAMBLE AND HUFF were the heart of soul of PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL. It was the most significant and powerful of the three major sources of SOPHISTICATED SOUL. There are now hundreds of different sites on the internet celebrating DISCO; the music and the cultures. Most concentrate on the 1970's between 1974 and 1981. Obviously many sites talk glowingly about the important contribution of PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL. Some Italian sites mention the 1968 single "(Ain't No Reason) For Girls to Be Lonely" by the legendary drag queen BOBBY MARCHAND released on the GAMBLE label as the first of the labels' DISCO. Granted, these are part of the crowd in the world who claim DISCO to have started in the late 1960's. Other sites talk enthusiastically about the aggressive 1969 single "Come Out Smokin'" by the band THE PANIC BUTTONS as the earliest and most important example of GAMBLE DISCO. There are still another group of DISCO sites rant and rave about "Slow Motion" by JOHNNY WILLIAMS as being either 'the earliest' or 'most important early DISCO recording from PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL. As we have constantly stated; especially during our REAL HISTORY OF DISCO last summer, there are dozens of different interpretations of DISCO that are greatly influenced by geography. The most important things to remember about the contribution of the PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL labels towards the development of DISCO; beyond the monumental influence of "Slow Drag" by THE INTRUDERS and "Me And Mrs. Jones" by BILLY PAUL, was that LEON & HUFF created amazing and wildly popular recordings that fed the rapidly emerging multi-billion dollar boom, partly brought on by the encroaching standardization of dozens of competing styles of discotheque music. Thousands of DISCO records were being released with dozens of specialized labels releasing highly popular recordings that would further intensify the boom. The PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL group intensified that standardization more than any other source with unforgettable tracks featuring artists like THE OJAY'S, M.F.S.B. and THE THREE DEGREES. The effects of those recordings are still being felt today! Like our first look at the PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL group of labels last week, we are beginning in the 1960's with previously mentioned examples on the GAMBLE label. The is not necessarily chronological from there on. Along with featuring many of those important recordings from THE OJAY'S, M.F.S.B. and THE THREE DEGREES, we are also featuring THE INTRUDERS, JOHNNY WILLIAMS, MCFADDEN & WHITEHEAD, THE JACKSONS, PEOPLE'S CHOICE, HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES, LOU RAWLS, THE TRAMMPS, ROBERT UPCHURCH, JEAN CARN and THE JONES GIRLS. There in no way we can play all of the PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL DISCO. One recording we are featuring is actually an unofficial mix of the MFSB track "Love Is The Message". Mixed by the celebrated New York area deejay DANNY KRIVIT, it became extremely influential and popular in the late 1980's to a new generation of deejays of HOUSE MUSIC, many of whom were never previously exposed to the magic of the PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL sound, We will end with one of a handful of LEON HUFF solo efforts: the curious "I Ain't Jivin', I'm Jammin'" from 1980!