Cold Case Featured Gamble & Huff Catalogue Seven songs from the legendary
Gamble & Huff “
Sound of Philadelphia” catalogue – led by
Back Stabbers, If You Don’t Know Me Be Now, Me & Mrs. Jones, andI’ll Be Around – were central to the plot of this weekend’s episode of Cold Case.
Though their songs have been featured prominently in countless TV programs, films and advertising spots over the Past 30 years, this is the first time the Gamble & Huff Catalogue were featured this extensively in more than 35 years.
The show featured, for the first time, the collaborative creative work of Gamble and Huff's silent music publishing partner and legendary producer, Thom Bell, who was responsible for producing and writing hits for artists such as the Spinners, Stylistics, Delphonics and others within the Philadelphia International camp. Gamble-Huff & Bell publishing entity, also known as Mighty-Three Music, was one of the largest African-American song catalogues in the country, second only to the Motown publishing empire. The Mighty-Three Music catalog was later sold to Warner Chappell Music in 1990.
The most sought after Gamble and Huff (PIR) catalog is currently licensed with Sony Music where many of the songs featured the show on a newly released box set entitled "Love Train:The Sound of Philadelphia".(www.gamble-huffmusic.com).
This weekend’s Cold Case episode, "Soul," found the team delving into the fictional 1970 murder of a musician who tried to keep his involvement with the Philadelphia Soul scene a secret from his strict preacher father for whom he was an organist. Meanwhile, Lilly meets her teenaged step-brother, Finn.
The featured “Sound of Philadelphia” songs:
• “Back Stabbers,” co-written by Leon Huff (recorded by The O’Jays), which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts in 1972.
• “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” co-written by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff (recorded by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes), which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts in 1972.
• “Me & Mrs. Jones,” co-written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (recorded by Billy Paul), which reached No. 1 on both the Billboard R&B and Hot 100 Singles charts in 1972.
• “I’ll Be Around,” co-written by Thomas Bell (recorded by The Spinners), which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Singles charts in 1972.
• “You’re The Reason,” co-written by kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (recorded by The Ebony’s).
• “Brown Baby,” co-written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (recorded by Billy Paul).
• “Listen to the Clock on the Wall,” co-written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (recorded by The O’Jays).
Cold Case highlights the diverse and decisive Philadelphia Homicide Squad, and their ability to close cases once thought unsolvable. The team uses their wits to take on aging evidence and witnesses with buried memories, uncovering fresh clues, digging into old wounds and doggedly pursuing the truth. It stars Kathryn Morris (Lilly Rush), John Finn (Lt. John Stillman), Jeremy Ratchford (Nick Vera), Thom Barry (Will Jeffries) and Tracie Thomas (Kat Miller).
Guest stars on this weekend’s episode - written by Ryan Farley and directed by John Showalter - included Wesley Jonathan ("What I Like About You") as the victim, Billy; Loretta Devine ("Grey's Anatomy") as a choir girlfriend of Billy; and Anna Maria Horsford ("The Shield") as the owner of an after-hours Jazz club. Jamie Hector ("The Wire") and Steven Williams ("The X-Files") also guest star, respectively, as the 1970 and 2009 incarnations of a record label founder.
Music legends Gamble & Huff wrote over 3,500 songs within 35 years, including R&B #1 hits, pop #1 hits, gold and platinum records, Grammy winners and BMI songwriters' awards honorees. Featured prominently in television programs ("The Apprentice"), films ("The Nutty Professor") and advertising spots (Verizon, Old Navy, The Gap) for more than 30 years, Gamble and Huff's songs have entered the musical DNA of contemporary culture. In fact, one of their songs is played on the radio somewhere in the world every 13.5 minutes. With a stable of core artists led by the O'Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Paul, MFSB , and the Three Degrees, Gamble and Huff co-founded Philadelphia International Records and created monster hits almost from the first day of its inception, and continued to strike gold and platinum for additional artists such as The Jacksons, Patti LaBelle, Dusty Springfield, Jerry Butler, Lou Rawls, McFadden & Whitehead, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Pendergrass and Dee Dee Sharp, among others. Songs they have written and produced together, like "Back Stabbers," "Love Train," "For The Love Of Money," "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "Cowboys to Girls," "Don't Leave Me This Way," "Enjoy Yourself," "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," "Only the Strong Survive" and "TSOP," have received songwriters' awards from Broadcast Music International (BMI). All told, the Gamble-Huff/PIR music machine" has generated over 100 Gold and Platinum records and over 70 #1 hits.
In 1999, four years after being inducted into the National Academy of Songwriters' Hall of Fame, Gamble & Huff were honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with the Trustees Award for their extensive body of work, both as producer and songwriter, and their contribution to the entire fabric of popular music. Last year, Gamble & Huff were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Gamble & Huff also have appeared on American Idol in a show devoted entirely to their music, and have been inducted twice into the Dance Music Hall of Fame and the R&B Hall of Fame.
