Posted on Wed, Nov. 11, 2009
IT WOULD seem that pop-music immortal/entrepreneur Kenny Gamble has figured out plenty through the decades. But there is one question he readily admits he can't answer: Why aren't this nation's military veterans - especially those who have had trouble coping with a return to civilian life - accorded the gratitude and respect they deserve?
"It doesn't make sense," he said during a recent phone call from Chicago. "I think veterans are the greatest Americans. The freedoms we had didn't come for free. They put their lives on the line. It seems to me special consideration should be given to these courageous individuals."
These are hardly random musings from the man who, along with partner Leon Huff, created the "Sound of Philadelphia" and gave the world dozens of classic pop 'n' soul hits including "Me and Mrs. Jones," "Love Train" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now." Instead, it is a riddle that Gamble is determined to solve the best way he knows how: through music.
Gamble has been spending much of his time these days promoting "I Am an American," a patriotic song showcasing performances by the Temple University Symphony and Choirs and Philly-bred megastar Patti LaBelle. It also features Gamble intoning passages from important political documents and oratory of the past 200-plus years of American history.
Conceived by Gamble as a way to raise money to help homeless vets, the six-minute work - available as part of a music CD and "Making Of" DVD package - was adapted from a song by another Philadelphian, Happy Victoria Love. Like the country it honors, it is a veritable melting pot, musically hopscotching between almost hymn-like modes and the kind of heart-pumping martial sounds that were popular when American doughboys were marching off to put the kibosh on the Kaiser in World War I.
The lyrics pay homage to an America where citizenship transcends race and religion.
Gamble's concern for the well-being of vets comes from personal experience. His younger brother, Carl, was a paratrooper in Vietnam, only to return home to find a nation and government indifferent at best to his war-created issues.
"Over the years," said Gamble, "we've talked a lot about Vietnam and the role he played. He had so many problems trying to get benefits and the service he deserved."
Gamble has had a long history with "I Am an American." He first heard it in 1980 at a dinner thrown by the Father Divine Peace Mission. "I said, 'Wow! This is a great song. One day, I'd like to record it.' "
The idea was put on hold until the mid-'90s, when the Temple ensembles performed at a ceremony honoring Gamble for his community service in South Philadelphia. Hearing the students perform, he knew that the two groups would be perfect for the "American" project.
More years passed until, in 2008, the piece was recorded at the Kimmel Center. LaBelle, said Gamble, was recruited "to put some hot sauce on it."
To see more about "I Am an American" or to order it ($12.99), go to www.iamanamerican.us
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