Music Legend Kenny Gamble Shares His "Sound of Philadelphia" Views During Black History Month Event
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- One of the prime movers of the famous "Sound of Philadelphia," Kenny Gamble, a music legend and community leader, was the keynote speaker at a Black History Month event on Wednesday organized by PNC at its operations center on Tinicum Boulevard.
Kenny Gamble talked about his life in music and commitment to revitalizing Philadelphia neighborhoods. He also talked about current affairs.
"There's so much anger," Gamble said. "It doesn't seem like there's much love in the world."
Gamble thinks the world is "in a transition period."
"Somebody told me a long time ago, they said 'I can't hear what you're saying because I see what you're doing,'" he said.
Then, people surged forward to say hello, shake his hand, take selfies with Gamble, and tell him how he influenced their lives, like Angela Booker, who recalls Gamble's visit to her West Philadelphia High School in 1985.
"We all made good grades," Booker said. "You really did give support to us, and we appreciate it."
One of the questions from attendees centered on who inspired him the most - and he included, among others, Elijah Muhammad, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali, the Reverend Leon Sullivan and Walter Lomax.