Philadelphia International Records

FORMER Gamble and Huff recording artist Archie Bell, of Archie Bell and the Drells, claims that Philadelphia International Records is tightening up on his royalties and keeping everything outta sight. In a lawsuit filed recently in Texas federal court, Bell, a Houston resident, claims that he was "induced" into signing a contract with Gamble and Huff years ago. Bell doesn't detail how he was "induced," but he claims that after signing, the record company didn't give him all the royalties he was owed, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service.

Who was that sweet lady passing out the Watchtower at 30th Street Station? And who would dare not take a copy from so earnest and charming a devotee of the faith? It was a devotion to the Jehovah's Witnesses that on many days led Ruby Gamble to hike from Stenton Avenue to City Hall with other witnesses, buttonholing passers-by and delivering their message of hope. Then she'd track down possible converts at the train station and other venues that might offer up interested people - or at least the curious.

A South Philadelphia ironworker who admitted setting fire to the Center City studio of music legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff while in a drunken stupor was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 to 10 years in prison. Christopher Cimini, 28, apologized and told Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson that he had no memory of breaking into Philadelphia International Records at Broad and Spruce Streets or of why he set the building ablaze. The fire caused $3.5 million in damage, destroying the studios where Gamble and Huff created "the Sound of Philadelphia" and recorded such artists as Patti LaBelle and Teddy Pendergrass.

Who's backstabbing who? Last week, the O'Jays, the R&B group whose 1970s signature hits included "For the Love of Money," "Back Stabbers," and "I Love Music," sued Philadelphia International Records and its owners, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, accusing them of theft, larceny and misappropriation of royalties. Yesterday, Gamble and Huff said that they're the ones who are, in effect, being stabbed in the back. In a statement released by their public relations firm, Gamble and Huff responded to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, in which O'Jays founders Eddie Levert Sr. and Walter Williams claim that the record company failed to comply with a 2006 court-ordered agreement to pay them royalties.

The Phyllis Hyman recording that was released right after she killed herself June 30, 1995, was filled with anguish, hurt and pain. Some say it reflected her mind-set. Titled "I Refuse to be Lonely," the disc contained some affirmations of love, but they were overwhelmed by sad songs, tunes of dark desperation and self-doubt. Then there was her appearance on the CD's jacket cover. Overly thick eyeliner circled her big, beautiful eyes. I guess she was trying to give a semblance of sultriness, looking at us from under that big hat. But she failed, looking more empty than sexy.

Father and son Eddie and Gerald Levert performed an energetic and highly entertaining show Wednesday evening at the Valley Forge Music Fair. In the first of a two-night stand, the duo converted the stage into a pulpit and performed as high priests of good old-fashioned R&B and soul. The best rhythm and blues contains elements of sexual innuendo and old-time gospel and a whopping dose of boogie fever, and this was no exception. Touring to promote Father & Son, their first album of duets, the Leverts kept the audience on its feet and the women rushing the stage every time Gerald gyrated his hips.

If rhythm and blues ever wondered whether it had found a permanent home in Philadelphia, the question will certainly be answered tonight. The Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards will mark the event's first time in Philly since the foundation moved its offices from New York three years ago. The awards have been on hiatus since then, but the star-studded gala at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue promises to brand Philadelphia as the R&B...

Caliph Gamble, 22, and Leon "Pops" Huff II, 19, want to maintain their fathers' music-making tradition with hip-hop beats. "Pops is extremely gifted with production, so he does a majority of the beats and finding young producers that complement his skills," Gamble said. "I'm more or less responsible for concepts, artists, trying to find the best acts to represent our tracks. " Their label, Uncen$ored Music, is a subsidiary of Philadelphia International Records. They work out of their fathers' offices on S. Broad Street.

Nowadays, the name Richard Barrett doesn't mean all that much to pop music followers. But back in the 1950s, in the golden era of street-corner "doo-wop" harmony groups, Philadelphian Richard Barrett was thought to be a genuine starmaker - a singer, songwriter and producer with the "best ears" in the business. In partnership with Rama Records' George Goldner, Barrett is credited with finding the Chantels, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Isley Brothers and most importantly to doo-wop history, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Nowadays, the name Richard Barrett doesn't mean all that much to pop music followers. But back in the 1950s, in the golden era of street-corner "doo-wop" harmony groups, Philadelphian Richard Barrett was regarded to be a genuine starmaker - a singer, songwriter and producer with the "best ears" in the business. In partnership with Rama Records' George Goldner, Barrett is credited with finding the Chantels, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Isley Brothers and most importantly to doo-wop history, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Who was that sweet lady passing out the Watchtower at 30th Street Station? And who would dare not take a copy from so earnest and charming a devotee of the faith? It was a devotion to the Jehovah's Witnesses that on many days led Ruby Gamble to hike from Stenton Avenue to City Hall with other witnesses, buttonholing passers-by and delivering their message of hope. Then she'd track down possible converts at the train station and other venues that might offer up interested people - or at least the curious.

FORMER Gamble and Huff recording artist Archie Bell, of Archie Bell and the Drells, claims that Philadelphia International Records is tightening up on his royalties and keeping everything outta sight. In a lawsuit filed recently in Texas federal court, Bell, a Houston resident, claims that he was "induced" into signing a contract with Gamble and Huff years ago. Bell doesn't detail how he was "induced," but he claims that after signing, the record company didn't give him all the royalties he was owed, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service.

South Philly native Kenny Gamble, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy winner and cofounder of Philadelphia International Records, turned 68 last week. Gamble, creator of the R&B music style "Philly Sound," has for the last 18 years focused on community redevelopment and education through his nonprofit, Universal Cos. Inquirer staff writer Kia Gregory talked to Gamble about the music business, city schools, and the impact of so-called flash mobs. Question: Turning 68, what's one thing you've learned?

The ad jingle "Nothing goes better with Phillies baseball than a Tastykake" will come true this season at Citizens Bank Park. Concessionaire Aramark says it will add five varieties to the lineup, as it is springing for countertop refrigerators to keep the mini-cakes' icing from melting during the heat of summer. Tasty Baking products haven't been regularly sold at Phillies games in years because of heat and humidity, a Tasty rep said. (You might recall eating Tandy Takes - the old name for Kandy Kakes - from wax-paper wrappers at Connie Mack Stadium in the 1960s.)

J AY LENO still has a soft spot for the old Middle East, which used to be at 123 Chestnut St. Local limousine-industry consultant Tom Mazza recently met Leno after a taping of the "Tonight Show" in Los Angeles, and after Mazza mentioned he was from Philadelphia, Leno asked about the Tayoun family and the Middle East restaurant. Leno used to perform at the Comedy Works, which Steve Young and Joy and Jimmy Little ran atop the Middle East, owned by former councilman-turned -Public Record publisher Jimmy Tayoun . Yesterday, Tayoun told us Leno loved the shish kebab, which he would eat between shows.

A South Philadelphia ironworker who admitted setting fire to the Center City studio of music legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff while in a drunken stupor was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 to 10 years in prison. Christopher Cimini, 28, apologized and told Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson that he had no memory of breaking into Philadelphia International Records at Broad and Spruce Streets or of why he set the building ablaze. The fire caused $3.5 million in damage, destroying the studios where Gamble and Huff created "the Sound of Philadelphia" and recorded such artists as Patti LaBelle and Teddy Pendergrass.

Once when Stevie Wonder was recording at Philadelphia International Records, he called Leon Huff to his side to share a feeling. "He said to me: 'Somebody else is in this building besides us,' " Huff said. "And I knew exactly what he meant. " Speaking publicly for the first time since the Sunday blaze that heavily damaged the Center City building where he and producing partner Kenny Gamble created the Sound of Philadelphia, Huff said he got that feeling once again when he'd heard the studio had escaped relatively unscathed.

Larry Gold will be on stage tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles during the 51st annual Grammy Awards. But unless you're on the lookout for a 60-year-old Jewish guy from Kensington cueing the string section during T.I. and Justin Timberlake's performance of "Dead and Gone," you probably won't notice him. "I'll be in the back, dressed all in black," says the cellist, owner of Philadelphia recording hub The Studio and string arranger to...

Raphael Saadiq is in a good mood. And why shouldn't he be? Soul-hop's finest player and producer put out his first solo CD in four years, The Way I See It; he has songs in Beyonc?'s forthcoming film, Cadillac Records; and he is opening for John Legend. We dig Legend, but the order should be reversed. Saadiq's no dummy, however. He knows people have short-term memories, despite the mega-hits his band Tony! Toni! Tone! recorded between 1988 and 1996. Saadiq, 42, realizes he barely toured for his previous solo dynamos, 2002's Instant Vintage and 2004's Ray Ray, while he was producing records for Whitney, D'Angelo, Joss Stone and the Roots.

With Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Sony unleashing a flood of Philadelphia International Records reissues, 2008 has been the year for revisiting the Sound of Philadelphia. It comes to a head with Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia. That's the title of the new four-CD boxed set (Legacy . . ) dedicated to P.I.R.'s silky soul-music saga, from the Soul Survivors' "Expressway (To Your Heart)" in 1967 to Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew" in 1983.