Phillysound

Under Phillysound (short for Philadelphia Sound , also called "Philadelphia Soul" called) is a style of soul music understood that from 1971 to the Sigma Sound Studios of Philadelphia with a uniform sound stereotype by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff has been produced.

Emergence

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had known each other since 1964 when they met in the elevator at Philadelphia's Schubert Theater. Since then, they have written - separately or together - music titles that cannot yet be counted as part of the Philly Sound. In addition, personnel and technical requirements had to be created. The technical basis was provided by a sound studio founded by the sound engineer Joseph Tarsia in August 1968 as Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The first recording session at Sigma Sound Studio took place on August 5th, 1968 with the Delfonics , who recorded their hit La La Means I Love You here (Philly Groove # 150). Those people who would be important for the further development of the Philly Sound also worked here. The producer was Thom Bell , they were accompanied by Norman Harris (guitar) and Ronnie Baker (bass), Vince Montana (vibraphone) and Don Renaldo's violin and Sam Reeds horn section. With the exception of Gamble / Huff, all the components of the later Philly sound came together here, so that the million seller can be described as the first recording of the Philly sound.

When Jerry Butler LP The Iceman Cometh (September 1968) other components met the later Phillisound. Tarsia was a sound engineer at Sigma Sound Studio, Gamble / Huff produced, Bobby Martin and Thom Bell arranged. Jerry Butler was accompanied by Roland Chambers and Dennis Harris (guitar), Steve Gold / Dexter Wansel / Leon Huff (keyboards), Derek Graves / Michael "Sugarbear" Foreman / Ronnie Baker (bass), Vince Montana (vibraphone), Billy Johnson / Charles Collins / Earl Young (drums) and David Cruse (congas); a violin (by Don Renaldo) and a wind section (Sam Reed) with a background choir (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton) completed the recording. The message song Only the Strong Survive , recorded on September 7, 1968, was released from the album and was created in just one take and 20 minutes of recording time. Following the release in January 1969 he became the second million-seller of the recording studio and Phillysound (Rank 1 rhythm and blues - hit parade , Rank 4 Pop).

Phillysound record label

So far, the records that can be assigned to the Philly sound have been released on the more regionally known labels Philly Groove , Gamble Records , Neptune Records or the supraregional Mercury Records . The first publication of the Neptune catalog in June 1969 were The O'Jays with One Night Affair , created in Sigma Sound Studio; the title received little publicity due to the lack of airplay because of the risky text.

Another tactical step was the establishment of the record label Philadelphia International Records (PIR), which was launched in February 1971 by Gamble / Huff and marketed nationally by CBS Records . The label developed as a platform for Phillysound, which from 1971 included a large number of performers in its catalog.

Gamble and Huff also recruited a band of more than 30 local studio musicians in 1971 to accompany the performers and who called themselves MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother). The core was made up of Roland Chambers / Norman Harris / Bobby Eli (guitar), Vince Montana (vibraphone), Ronnie Baker (bass), Lenny Pakula (organ) and Earl Young (drums). The MFSB studio musicians and the violin and brass sections mentioned resulted in a soft, opulent sound mixture with a high recognition value , often illustrated by the special playing style of the open and closed hi-hat . Drummer Earl Young used a beat pattern for the hi-hat that he had previously heard on a Fantastic Johnny C record ( Waitin 'For the Rain ; January 1973). Young accentuated the off-beats with an open hi-hat, whose hissing noise dominated the Philly sound. It is created by striking the cymbals in the open state with immediate closing, whereby the sound is "cut off".

successes

With this combination of recording studio, studio musicians and the same producer, author and arranger staff, tons of hits were created. The first single in the catalog was Gideon Smith with the title Arkansaw Wife (PIR 3501) on the market in March 1971, which also did not make it into the charts, as did the following 15 singles. The first hit a year after the label was founded was I Miss You by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (PIR 3516) in March 1972, which reached number 7 on the R&B charts. Back Stabbers became the first number one hit in the catalog via sneaky guys from the O'Jays (May 1972, PIR 3517) in the R&B charts, at the same time also the first million seller of the new label, on September 1, 1972 with a gold Record excellent. The first pop hit was Billy Paul's ballad about a problematic love triangle Me and Mrs. Jones (September 1972, PIB 3521), which received a Grammy Award . Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes brought another million seller with If You Don't Know me by Now in September 1972 (PIB 3520). In January 1973 MFSB released the instrumental version Family Affair (with Huff on the electric piano; PIB 3528), which demonstrated the instrumental abilities of this studio band. The group delivered another instrumental hit with TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) in February 1974 (PIB 3540), which became the signature tune of Phillysound and the nationwide US TV music show Soul Train . A typical Philly sound was the million seller When Will I See You Again by the girls' trio The Three Degrees (PIB 3550), which came onto the market in September 1974 and was awarded gold on December 9, 1974. The hit was sold over 2 million times. The record label People's Choice contributed to further million sellers with Do it Anyway You Wanna (August 1975, PIB 3500), the O'Jays with I Love Music (October 1975; PIB 3577), Teddy Pendergrass and Close the Door (May 1978, PIB 3648 ) and McFadden & Whitehead with Ain't No Stoppin 'Us Now (March 1979, PIB 3681). The latter went platinum with 8 million copies sold worldwide on July 27, 1979. The interpreters Gene McFadden and John Whitehead worked since May 1972 as additional producers, composers and arrangers for PIR. From 1980 onwards, the label's success subsided, and the Philly sound became increasingly the forerunner of disco music , which eventually ousted it.

Representative of the Philly Sound

Archie Bell & the Drells Blue Magic Brenda & the tabulations Jerry Butler Jean Carn The Delfonics William DeVaughn Double exposure The Ebonys First choice Hall & Oates Major Harris Loleatta Holloway

Eddie Holman Phyllis Hyman Instant funk The Intruders The Jones Girls Barbara Mason McFadden & Whitehead Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes MFSB New York City Cliff Nobles The O'Jays Billy Paul

Teddy Pendergrass People's Choice Lou Rawls The Salsoul Orchestra The Soul Survivors The Spinners Bobby Starr The stylistics Sweet sensation The three degrees The Trammps The vibrations Barry White (Love Unlimited Orchestra)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jim Cogan / William Clark, Temples of Sound , 2003, p. 155.
2. ^ John A. Jackson, A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul , 2004, p. 92.
3. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 259.
4. ^ John A. Jackson, A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul , 2004, p. 78.
5. ^ Norm N. Nite, Rock On Vol. 2 (1964-1978) , 1984, p. 418.
6. ^ Peter Shapiro, Turn The Beat Around: The Rise and Fall of Disco , 2006, p. 97.
7. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 352.
8. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 350.
9. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 391 f.
10. ^ ^{A b} Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 405.
11. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 464
12. ^ F. Erik Brooks, Pursuing A Promise , 2006, p. 133.