O'Jays' suit sings a song of discord

The O'Jays are singing a new tune in federal court, claiming that the fathers of the Philly Sound are "Back Stabbers."

In a suit filed Friday, the O'Jays, who scored massive R&B hits in the mid-1970s with "For the Love of Money," "Used to Be My Girl," and "Love Train," accuse Philadelphia International Records, producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and others of theft, larceny, and misappropriation of royalties.

The suit demands $3 million for back payments and punitive damages.

"Money money money money," indeed.

The group, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and tours regularly, experienced a resurgence after Donald Trump's TV show The Apprentice chose "For the Love of Money" as its theme song and Coors Brewing Co. picked "Love Train" to sell beer.

In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, O'Jays founding members Eddie Levert Sr. and Walter Williams claim the record company failed to comply with a 2006 court-ordered agreement to pay them royalties.

Neither Levert nor Williams could be reached for comment. An attorney for Levert had no comment other than to say, "The suit speaks for itself."

In court papers, Levert and Williams allege that Philadelphia International kept $47,000 it owed the O'Jays, claiming it would go "to pay their legal bill in another matter." The record company, they said, then passed the buck, placing the blame on Philadelphia International's parent company, Sony Music.

The suit seeks triple the amount the record company owes them and an additional $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Gamble has been known recently as a founder of Philadelphia's 10,000 Men movement. Neither he nor Huff returned numerous calls requesting comment.

Philadelphia International, founded in 1971 by Gamble and Huff, turned out hundreds of hit records and made the City of Brotherly Love a capital of sophisticated soul music.

Gamble and Huff were the architects of what came to be known as the Sound of Philadelphia, a lush brand of R&B marked by orchestral string sections and jazzlike shadings. The duo is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10.

The O'Jays were perhaps the most successful act signed to Philadelphia International, which was also home to Patti LaBelle, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, and Teddy Pendergrass.

The duo penned and produced many of the O'Jays' best-selling records, including "Back Stabbers" and "For the Love of Money."

The Philly Sound went into eclipse with the advent of disco. In the 1990s, the company launched a hip-hop subsidiary.

While Gamble is now a pillar of the community, he was fined $45,000 by the federal government for a payola scandal in the mid-1970s.

Since putting music on the back burner, Gamble has focused on development projects in North and South Philadelphia through his Universal Cos.

Gamble proposed a $50 million plan in 2006 that would create a music-themed entertainment district in Philadelphia similar to Beale Street in Memphis and Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The O'Jays and Philadelphia International are no strangers to litigation.

Last year, a longtime member of the O'Jays sued his former partners and the company for $15 million. Sammy Strain, who replaced original member William Powell in 1976, claimed he never received royalties from his 16 years with the group. That suit is pending.