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Legendary songwriting and producing team Gamble, Huff & Bell have joined forces with BMI to release their first joint interview in 10 years.
The all-new interview comes as a three-part video series that sees the trio — Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell — discussing their extensive music catalog, creative process, longstanding legacy and history with BMI.
Gamble, Huff & Bell have written and produced hit songs for legendary music acts including The Jacksons, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Dusty Springfield and more. The trio is also often credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre and are celebrating 60 consecutive years working with BMI.
In part one of the series, Gamble explains the secret to their synergy as a production trio. “We’re all friends, we all knew each other,” he began. “We all come from the same band, Kenny Gamble & The Rodeos. This was a great band and that band was something that brought us all together.”
Huff continued, “We never missed a beat.” And on his creative process, the iconic musician explained, “I go to sleep and wake up with music on my mind. Every time I sit down and play it, I have the tape recorder running because there’s no telling what I might come up with.”
Bell added, “We were writing and arranging every day, sometimes three and four arrangements a day within hours … We never thought about how hard it was. We didn’t do it for the money; we did it for the love for what we were doing.”
Collectively, Gamble, Huff & Bell have won 93 BMI Awards. Gamble was named BMI Songwriter of the Year in 1970, ’73, ’74 and ’77. Huff was named BMI Songwriter of the Year in 1974 and 1977. Gamble, Huff and Bell have all been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2009, Gamble and Huff became BMI Icon Award recipients. Gamble & Huff also formed the legendary Philadelphia International Records (PIR) in 1971, and the label became the driving force behind more than 170 gold and platinum records, including “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “For the Love of Money,” “When Will I See You Again” and “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.”
Learn more about the icons by watching the three-part video series with music greats Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell below:
Gamble, Huff & Bell discuss their origins with BMI
Gamble, Huff & Bell discuss their iconic songs with BMI
Gamble, Huff & Bell discuss their enduring legacy with BMI
After news of the death of actor James Caan at age 82, Barbra Streisand took to her social media accounts to remember the man who played her husband in 1975’s Funny Lady.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Jimmy,” Streisand wrote on Twitter and Instagram alongside a black-and-white photo of the pair in the 1970s. “He was so talented.”
Caan and Streisand co-starred in Funny Lady, a sequel to the movie musical Funny Girl, which marked Streisand’s film debut in 1968. The 1975 film followed Fanny Brice’s marriage to songwriter and producer Billy Rose (Caan).
According to film legend (as told by TCM), actor Robert Blake was in the running to play Rose, but Caan secured the role instead because, as Streisand told a reporter, “It comes down to who the audience wants me to kiss. Robert Blake, no. James Caan, yes. And he has to be able to talk as fast as me.”
On the Funny Lady soundtrack, Caan sang two songs: “Me and My Shadow” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon”/”I Like Her.” The album, one of the first releases on Arista Records, reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in May 1975.
Caan’s family announced his death earlier Thursday (July 7) via the actor’s Twitter account. “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time. End of tweet.”
The actor will likely be best remembered for his role as the volatile Sonny Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather and is familiar to modern-day movie audiences as the gruff dad to Will Ferrell’s goofy Buddy in 2003’s Elf.
See Streisand’s tribute to Caan below.
I’m so sorry to hear about Jimmy. He was so talented. #JamesCaan pic.twitter.com/5CB1NKTYa9
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) July 7, 2022
LONDON — As the Prime Minister who steered the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Boris Johnson had a profound impact on the country’s music industry — for better or worse.
Notably, his government has ratcheted up pressure on stakeholders to find ways to more fairly compensate artists in the streaming economy.
Now that the Conservative Party leader has resigned, British music executives will be anxiously weighing what the turmoil of the past 48 hours at Downing Street means for them.
Whoever succeeds Johnson as prime minister — the timetable for a leadership contest will be announced next week — it will mean a cabinet reshuffle and the likely departure of culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport oversaw the government department most prominently looking into the issue of fair payment for artists from streaming.
A nine-month probe of the streaming music business by the Parliament’s Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) Committee wrapped up last July, concluding that the global streaming model led by Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon Music was “unsustainable” in its current form.
Since then, Johnson’s government has initiated a number of working groups with industry stake holders exploring issues raised by the DCMS committee and has refused to rule out legislating change if the industry can’t work together to find its own solutions. Those working groups are expected to continue despite the political turmoil engulfing Westminster — although the large number of government and ministerial resignations that have taken place since Tuesday could significantly slow down progress.
Among the more than 50 ministers and aides who resigned in opposition to Johnson were Chris Philp, minister for Tech and the Digital Economy; Julia Lopez, minister for media, data and digital infrastructure; and George Freeman, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation.
In December, Freeman told MPs in the House of Commons that Johnson’s government wanted to ensure “a fair streaming environment in which the U.K. music industry can thrive and artists are properly rewarded.” His exit could potentially change the direction of government intervention in the record business, although much of the actual groundwork is carried out by civil servants.
A 12-month review of the streaming business by U.K. competition regulator The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), looking at concerns related to the major labels’ dominance of the industry, is unaffected by recent events, as the CMA is an independent non-ministerial government department. It’s expected to publish its interim findings this month.
When it comes to Brexit — Johnson’s biggest political legacy — music and touring executives will be hoping for a smoother ride under his successor.
Since the U.K. left the European Union in January 2020, U.K. acts have needed to acquire a vast number of visas and work permits to tour in Europe (and vice versa for European acts wanting to play the U.K.). And new cabotage regulations have restricted the number of stops U.K. truck drivers could make in EU countries.
Touring executives and trade groups have worked closely with government ministers to fix many of those issues, although some difficulties around European touring remain, along with a large increase in red tape and business costs as a result of Brexit.
Johnson’s exit as prime minister won’t lead to a reversal of Brexit, but it could lead to a more “constructive” and “respectful” relationship between Britain and the EU, says Michel Barnier, former chief Brexit negotiator for the European Commission.
For the first time since their epic Verzuz battle, Mario and Omarion are set to share the stage once more — together, not against each other, this time.
The duo will be performing in Mario’s home state of Maryland next month for Femme It Forward Presents: Serenade, which will be held at The Theater at MGM National Harbor in National, Harbor, Md., on July 29.
Mario and Omarion’s upcoming onstage reunion has us reminiscing on some other major Verzuz battles from Swizz Beats and Timbaland‘s popular musical face-off challenge, and we want to know what other competitor’s you’d like to see perform together.
Let us know by voting in the poll below.
Reggie Andrews — co-writer and producer of the Dazz Band’s Grammy Award-winning hit “Let It Whip” and beloved music educator whose former mentees range from Leon “Ndugu” Chancler and Patrice Rushen to Terrace Martin and The Internet’s Syd — died on June 23 in Upland, Calif. The 74-year-old’s cause of death was not disclosed.
“Creative without sacrificing responsibility. Forward thinking without abandoning tradition. Dedicated to sharing knowledge,” said Rushen of Andrews in an email message sent to Billboard. “He touched so many of us … taught so many us … saved so many of us. His legacy is that he introduced us to the best in ourselves and showed us a path, through our artistry and excellence, to shine.”
Born January 2, 1948, Andrews was a Los Angeles native who graduated from Washington Preparatory High School. From there, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in music education and music theory from Pepperdine College in 1969. He followed that with a masters degree from California State University, Long Beach.
Andrews, also a pianist, launched his professional career as a musician by working with Willie Bobo’s Latin jazz groups before graduating from Pepperdine. During a later stint at Motown Records, Andrews segued into A&R, composing and arranging via collaborations with acts such as DeBarge, Switch, Rick James (“Super Freak”) and the Dazz Band — co-writing that group’s 1982 No. 1 R&B hit “Let It Whip” with Chancler.
It was also in the late ‘60s that Andrews began his estimable career as a music educator. Becoming a classroom teacher at Alain Leroy Locke High School in L.A. in 1969, he eventually advanced to music department chair at the school.
Before retiring in 2010, Andrews also taught at other schools in the greater Watts area of L.A., including Fremont High School, Los Angeles Southwest College and King-Drew Medical & Science Magnet in addition to his college alma mater in Long Beach. Along the way, Andrews mentored a long list of future music stars including Tyrese Gibson, music director Rickey Minor, The Pharcyde, Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, Kamasi Washington and two current members of Earth Wind & Fire’s horn section: Gary Bias and Reggie Young.
“Mr. Andrews is the reason I even exist as a musician besides my dad,” commented Thundercat. “He changed me and my brothers’ lives for the better amongst many, many musicians and artists. The values and principles he instilled in me as a child and as a musician are still the pillars that drive me. He literally laid the foundation of music in Los Angeles: a teacher, a father, a true musician. I will miss him so much. “
Added Terrace Martin, “Reggie Andrews did more than teach music. He taught young Black boys how to become Black men. He would say, ‘Hold your head up, keep your word, expect the unexpected and so much more.’ Reggie had a special power of being able to talk to me about all of my problems and hand me a ton of solutions and options. That’s a Master Teacher.“
Andrews is survived by his wife Sharon Takaha; children India, Nia, Aisha, Dominique, Marla and Renon; sister Yolanda Uta Reed and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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