PHILLY INT'L CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings and Warner Chappell Music are launching a yearlong campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records (PIR), the leading proponent of Philly soul.

Recognition of the label’s anniversary begins with the release today of new remixes from Eric Kupper of one of the label’s most enduring anthems, McFadden & Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”

Sonos will premiere a new station 2/24 on Sonos Radio HD, The Sound of Philadelphia, that Gamble will host and curate. In partnership with Warner Chappell, the station will present Gamble discussing writing, producing and working on scores of albums and singles, plus special guests and unique programming for Black History Month and Women’s History Month.

VMP (Vinyl Me, Please), in conjunction with Legacy, will issue an eight-LP box-set called VMP Anthology: The Story of Philadelphia International (release date TBD).

Also teaming with Legacy, Snapper Music-United Souls will release a series of limited-edition, eight-CD sets throughout the year. Each will contain a poster, an exclusive 12-inch single, an endorsed, numbered certificate and a 48-page hardcover book. All discs will be mastered from original tapes. They will bring together the entire PIR studio album collection for the first time.

“It’s a blessing to celebrate all of the writers, musicians, engineers, disc jockeys and all the people that were on our team,” said PIR Co-Founder Gamble. “When I listen to this music now, I can close my eyes and the music brings us all back together again. Hearing this music reminds me of all the hard work our team did and the dedication they showed in creating such a long-lasting catalog, one that has been embraced by the world, and I’m thankful.”

Back in the day, Gamble and Huff assembled producers, songwriters and engineers like Thom Bell, Dexter Wansel and Bobby Martin to collaborate with a roster of hitmakers whose work helped define soul music in the 1970s: The O’Jays ("Love Train"), Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes ("If You Don't Know Me by Now"), Billy Paul (Grammy winner "Me and Mrs. Jones"), Lou Rawls ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"), Patti LaBelle and Teddy Pendergrass, among others.

Gamble and Huff themselves have written and produced 175 gold and platinum records, earning them induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.