Philadelphia International Records founders vow to rebuild after fire
Veteran R&B songwriters and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff said that a fire over the weekend at the headquarters of their fabled Philadelphia International Records label destroyed about 40% of the memorabilia they’d collected from 40 years of business, but did not seriously damage the recording studio that is the heart of their operation.
“Our space has been violated by someone who chose to set fire to it,” the longtime musical partners said in a statement issued Tuesday after touring the building. “But what’s most important is that we will build it again and continue to rebuild. Nothing is going to stop us.”
Among the lost material were numerous gold and platinum record awards as well as copies of CDs by Teddy Pendergrass, Michael Jackson and the Jacksons, Patti LaBelle and Lou Rawls. Before Gamble, Huff and fellow songwriter-producer Thom Bell took over the building for PIR in 1970 and created what became known as “The Sound of Philadelphia” there, it had been the birthplace of early-’60s hits including Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and Dee Dee Sharp’s “Mashed Potato Time.”
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