Tag Archives: Philadelphia International Records
BILLY PAUL-GOING EAST.
BILLY PAUL-GOING EAST. After releasing Feelin’ Good At the Cadillac Club on Gamble Records in 1968 and Ebony Woman on Neptune in 1970, Billy Paul signed to a newly formed label in Philadelphia, founded by two songwriters, musicians and producers. The label was Philadelphia International Records and the two founders were Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. …
THE FUTURES-PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURES.
THE FUTURES-PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURES. While reviewing the forthcoming Philadelphia International Records-The 40th Anniversary Box Set and the recently released Philadelphia International Records-The Tom Moulton Remixes, I came across tracks by The Futures, a group who were one of Philadelphia International Records’ nearly men. They released two albums for Philadelphia International, 1978s Past, Present …
JUMPIN.’
JUMPIN.’ Since 1995, Harmless Records have been releasing an eclectic selection of compilations. This has ranged from their highly successful funk, soul and jazz compilations Pulp Fusion to compilations, to compilations of breakbeats and Latin music. However, over the past few years, Harmless Records have also released a number of quality disco compilations, including their …
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS.
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS. A year after the release of Billy Paul’s most commercially successful album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul in 1972, an album that featured the Grammy Award winning number one single Me and Mrs Jones, Billy released his follow-up album War of the Gods. By this time, Philadelphia International Records had …
THE O’JAYS-WE’LL NEVER FORGET YOU-THE IMPERIAL YEARS 1963-66.
THE O’JAYS-WE’LL NEVER FORGET YOU-THE IMPERIAL YEARS 1963-66. Although I’ve reviewed a number of The O’Jays albums from their Philadelphia International days, including Back Stabbers, Family Reunion and Ship Ahoy, there was much more to their music than music than the Philadelphia International years. Granted, it was by far, the most successful period of The …
MELLOW MELLOW-15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
MELLOW MELLOW-15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. One of my favorite independent record labels over the past seventeen years is Harmless Records, who were founded in 1995. Since then, they’ve been releasing quality music on a regular basis. They’ve released a number of hugely successful compilation series including Pulp Fusion, Disco Discharge and of course thirty editions of …
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-IT’S TIME FOR LOVE.
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-IT’S TIME FOR LOVE. When I was reviewing Dimitri From Paris’ Philly Sound compilation Get Down With the Philly Sound, the compilation featured five tracks from one of my favorite soul singers Teddy Pendergrass. This included two tracks from Teddy’s debut solo album Teddy Pendergrass, plus a trio of tracks from Teddy’s old group …
DIMITRI FROM PARIS-GET DOWN WITH THE PHILLY SOUND.
DIMITRI FROM PARIS-GET DOWN WITH THE PHILLY SOUND. For anyone who like me who is a huge fan of Philadelphia International Records, 2012 is going to be year to enjoy. A number of compilations, box sets and live albums are being released to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff founding Philadelphia …
THE STYLISTICS-CLOSER THAN CLOSE.
THE STYLISTICS-CLOSER THAN CLOSE. What never ceases to amaze me is how sometimes, a group can go from being one of the biggest and most successful groups in soul music, to almost the forgotten men of soul music. It seems that fame is indeed temporary. Some people may say that form is also temporary, and …
BILLY PAUL-FIRST CLASS.
BILLY PAUL-FIRST CLASS. First Class was Billy Paul’s ninth and final album for Philadelphia International Records, released in 1979. After some hugely successful singles and albums, including Billy’s 1972 album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul and Let ‘Em In, and singles like Let ‘Em In and Mr and Mrs Jones, Billy had decided to retire …
LOVE AND JEALOUSY AND BACK TO MY PLACE BABY.
LOVE AND JEALOUSY AND BACK TO MY PLACE BABY. If I was to say the words Southern, Deep, Crossover, Modern and Northern what would you say? Many people would immediately say soul. They would be correct, but they’re also the themes for some of the Backbeats compilations that have been released since 2009. In total, …
LOU RAWLS-UNMISTAKABLY LOU.
LOU RAWLS-UNMISTAKABLY LOU. Unmistakably Lou was Lou Rawls second album for Philadelphia International Records. Released in May 1977, it was the follow-up to All Things In Time, released in June 1976. All Things In Time would be a hard act to follow for Lou, as it had reached number seven in the US Billboard 200 …
PHILLY BUSTERS AND SMOOTH GROOVES.
PHILLY BUSTERS AND SMOOTH GROOVES. Usually around the Christmas and New Year period, you don’t expect to find a series of ten, yes ten great soul compilations to be released. Usually at this time of year it’s a myriad of predictable greatest hits or best of albums from the usual suspects. Add to that the …
THE JONES GIRLS-GET AS MUCH LOVE AS YOU CAN.
THE JONES GIRLS-GET AS MUCH LOVE AS YOU CAN. Over the years, The Jones Girls have been compared favorably with such luminaries of soul music as The Emotions, The Three Degrees and The Supremes, and their backing vocals have graced albums by some of the biggest names in music, including Betty Everett, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou …
THE STYLISTICS-HURRY UP THIS WAY AGAIN.
THE STYLISTICS-HURRY UP THIS WAY AGAIN. The story of The Stylistics has some similarities with that of The Delfonics. Both groups were among the finest purveyors of the Philly Sound and both were produced by Thom Bell. However, when Thom stopped working with each group, their music never had the same depth or quality. Even …
JERRY BUTLER-THE BEST LOVE.
JERRY BUTLER-THE BEST LOVE. Jerry Butler’s role in the Philadelphia International Records story was more than just a singer. Over the years, he wrote songs a number of songs either with Gamble and Huff, or on his own and worked as a producer for the label. This he did during the two periods he was …
LOU RAWLS-ALL THINGS IN TIME.
LOU RAWLS-ALL THINGS IN TIME. By the time Lou Rawls signed for Philadelphia International Records, he’d already had a long and successful career in the music industry. He’d released his debut album Stormy Monday on Blue Note Records back in 1962, and since then, had released over twenty-five albums for a various record companies including …
JEAN CARN-HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU.
JEAN CARN-HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU. Recently I was listening to a compilation entitled Philly Disco, released on the Bac Beats label when I heard one of my favorite Jean Carn tracks If You Want To Go Back. That made me think that it was time that I wrote another article on Jean Carn’s music. …
DEE DEE SHARP-DEE DEE.
DEE DEE SHARP-DEE DEE. During the last few months, I’ve been writing a series about some of the great music released by Philadelphia International Records. This series has featured some of the labels biggest stars like The O’Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Billy Paul and The Three Degrees. Many of these artists released …
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-LIFE IS A SONG WORTH SINGING.
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-LIFE IS A SONG WORTH SINGING. In a previous article I reviewed Teddy Pendergrass’ debut solo album, entitled Teddy Pendergrass. This was his first album since leaving Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, where he’d been the lead singer. His debut solo album, Teddy Pendergrass was released in June 1977, reaching number seventeen in …
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