Why don't producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff talk about Bobby Martin from Philadelphia International Records?

Answer 1

I am a member of the MFSB and I am a good friend of both producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff from Philadelphia International Records. I'd like to answer this question for the record. Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Bobby Martin were a perfect combination. They were the foundation of all that good R&B and soul music that the world still loves today, that's not to say that Tom Bell and the others did not contribute in a big way. My job at Philadelphia International Records was to put a little salt or pepper on what Kenny Gamble, Bobby Matin, Tom Bell and Leon Huff had already cooked. Bobby Martin was and still is a musical genius, "that cat is the best arranger that I've ever known." I don't know why Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff don't mention any of the songs that Bobby Martin produced, most of Bobby Martins productions turned out to be big platinum selling hits. Most people in Philadelphia assume that Bobby Martin is just a bandleader and arranger of the band MFSB. I honestly think that Bobby Martins arrangements were so powerful, such as "Me And Mrs. Jones", and therefore we all forgot that Bobby Martin was this great producer that owned Bobby Martin Productions. Bobby Martin was literally outshining himself and his productions on hit records with his same name on other records or record labels that stated that he was an arranger! Most people in the music industry and in the public figured that there were two different Bobby Martins, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. People were looking to buy records that Bobby Martin had arranged at Philadelphia International records, and they figured that the producer named Bobby Martin was someone else. This same Philadelphia arranger Bobby Martin is real good at about five different things, he's a professional producer, musician and songwriter etc. It was a little hard to keep track of all of what he was doing all at once, he was working in Philadelphia and Hollywood at the same time in the 1970s and early 1980s. Some of Bobby Martins work and productions are found under the name Robert Martin or Robert L. Martin, so it looks like he could be three or four different individuals. "All of us Philly folks" just wanted to hold on to Bobby Martin forever and to claim him as being our Philadelphia Sound music arranger. Bobby Martin was a big part of us, he is still known as a legend here on the east coast. Nobody in Philadelphia wanted to hear that Bobby Martin was leaving Philadelphia in the 1970s to go to produce records in Hollywood California with Quincy Jones at A&M Records or for Capitol and Colombia Records. Philadelphia soul music, funk, R&B and disco had dominated the airwaves, and we were winning Grammys. Loosing Bobby Martin was worse than loosing the mayor or the 1st lady or something, it was awful. This meant that we were all going to loose a big part of Philadelphia and possibly loose our great success, and the music that had effected so many people around the world. Bobby Martin himself had brought such a great recognition to the city of Philadelphia, he even won a Grammy Award for the song TSOP, which stands for "The Sound of Philadelphia." He made such a great contribution to American Music, he literally shocked and changed the world with what he was doing in the music industry. Loosing Bobby Martin was equivalent to loosing someone like Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Everything went downhill at Philadelphia International records when Bobby Martin left us because Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Bobby Martin were the backbone and the key to everything. I know Kenny Gamble had been associating with Bobby Martin long before there ever was a Philadelphia International Records, in the late 1950s. Bobby Martin was producing hit records in Philadelphia before Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were, so there is a rich history between those guys. I once asked Kenny Gamble why don't you ever mention Bobby Martin, and in so many words he said that Bobby Martin was low key. I later asked Leon Huff, then Leon Huff told me the same thing! I figured it was a big mix up or something. So when I finally caught up with Bobby Martin I asked him if he wanted to remain anonymous, he said "man who told you that?" Bobby Martin said that when he signed with A&M Records and moved to California everybody in Philadelphia just assumed that he wanted to be anonymous. He said some people assumed that he moved to California to no longer be a part of Philly (Philadelphia). He said, "man I'll always be Philadelphia Bobby Martin before anything else." And that clears up the whole mix up on that. Someone must have told Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff that Bobby Martin didn't want his name mentioned when in public. Bobby Martin told me personally to send his love to Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and to everyone in Philadelphia. So my advice to Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff is to not hide the true history of Philadelphia soul and how it all came about. We can all rejoice and embrace our rich history, there's enough to share! If we don't mention Bobby Martin and his contributions to Philadelphia and Philadelphia International Records, then it makes us all look like thieves. I'm not talking about money when I say this, I'm saying it makes us look like we are liars! I'm talking about giving credit and sharing credit. If you don't give credit where it's due it makes you look like real bad people, and I know you don't want that. So give the world the truth and let the world know about Bobby Martin as well, let's do things the right way. we're from the city of brotherly love, so go on and show it! Peace..