Philadelphia, PA. (Top40 Charts/ Sony BMG
Music Entertainment) - Premiere hip hop artist
Kanye West had the good sense to license a sample from Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records/Sony catalog artist Edwin Birdsong entitled "Cola Bottle Baby." He is now watching his single "
Stronger" skyrocket up the charts, while showing
50 Cent and the music industry how it's done. Birdsong's original tune is quite popular. Kanye sampled an existing sample of "Cola Bottle Baby," that hip, Parisian electronica duo
Daft Punk included in their single "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". This has created a competitive fan dialog on YouTube over which artist's version reigns supreme.
Birdsong's original recording of the single and album are available for download on iTunes and Sony BMG. Kanye's sampled version ("Stronger") is currently featured in the trailer for the new Jamie Foxx film "Kingdom". Meanwhile, Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records (PIR), long noted as the most licensed and sampled R&B catalog, racks up yet another one.
Edwin Birdsong, who is a nationally recognized artist and musician, was signed to the legendary PIR label back in the early 80s. He had modest acclaim for his "new age sounding" hit song "Phizz Phizz," which was on the same album as "Cola Bottle Baby" - the Kanye West and Daft Punk sampled song.
"It's a great blessing to have such creatively diverse and exceptional artists as Kanye West and Daft Punk sample a song I wrote and recorded more than 25 years ago," Birdsong says. "I am extremely grateful for the new revenue being generated and I have the highest respect for Gamble & Huff for having faith in my creative work and vision so many years ago."
Gamble & Huff comment: "Edwin Birdsong was a very unique and different artist under the PIR label, fusing electronica with soul music. He was ahead of his time. We are very happy with the success of the multiple-sampled song, especially when great artists like Kanye and Daft Punk put their creative spin on it."
Top artists who have sampled or covered the Gamble & Huff catalog include Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Outkast, Usher, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Nelly, Ludacris, T.I., Redman, Christina Milian, Lupe Fiasco, Cam'ron, Raphael Saadiq w/Q-Tip, Faith Evans, Lil Kim, Ja Rule, Ne-Yo, Twista, Fat Joe and Bette Midler, just to name a few. More recently, internationally renowned recording artist Michael Buble covered the classic Gamble & Huff penned hit song "Me & Mrs. Jones."
The Gamble & Huff signature "The Sound of Philadelphia" (TSOP) sound is also extremely popular with major advertising agencies, music supervisors and film and television production units around the world.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has recently completed an historic agreement to license the complete catalog of music from Philadelphia International Records, bringing the classic Philly Soul sound to a new generation through its commercial music group and Legacy Recordings. The monumental PIR reissue project will be directly supervised by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, beginning with the November 2007 release of two double CD compilations including The Essential Lou Rawls and The Essential Teddy Pendergrass.
Sony BMG has begun the process of releasing for the first time ever the entire Gamble & Huff/Philadelphia International Records catalog digitally.
Gamble & Huff are widely renowned as the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum selling writing and production team who have created one of the most recognizable and influential catalogs of pop and soul music ever recorded. Their catalog and wide-reaching fan base runs deep, equating the statistic that a Gamble & Huff song is being played on the radio somewhere in the world every 13.5 minutes. Over the years, the Gamble & Huff team has been responsible for 70 No 1 Pop and R&B singles and 175 RIAA Gold, Platinum and multi-platinum certifications. To date, the partnership has produced more than 3,500 songs and has been awarded five Grammys.
