ABSTRACT
R&B/soul label founded in Philadelphia by noted producers (Kenny) Gamble and (Leon) Huff in 1971, in association with Columbia Records, who marketed and distributed their product. Their artists included the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Spinners, and the Stylistics. They scored big in 1974 when they released Van McCoy’s “The Hustle” on their Avco label #4653; (#1 pop & R&B) essentially launching the craze for disco music. The producers formed a house band that helped them achieve a signature sound on their recordings, much as Motown had done in the 1960s. Dogged by accusations of participating payola and other illegal activities, the label struggled in the later 1970s. In the early 1980s, the label had stars Patti LaBelle and Teddy Pendergrass, but had difficulty keeping up with new trends in popular music, and the label folded by mid-decade. In 2002, Sony/Legacy announced a series of reissues under the Philly Soul Classics name drawing on the label’s recordings.
