Questlove’s Playground: Philadelphia International’s Offices, Where Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle, Al Green, Stevie Wonder & The Jacksons Played

My elementary school was right next door to the offices of Philadelphia International Records. Philly International used Sigma Studios, other places, too, but this was the offices of the label. Broad Street was built very wide and at that time not everything was a skyscraper. The city would allow you to build what you want to build, but you had to give something back. Most developers would give a park back. There was one on Broad, and between second and fourth grade, we had recess in that park, across the street from the school. Other schools would use it too. Our recess was from 11 a.m. through lunch, so depending on the teacher it could stretch to a full hour. We would always come back around 12:15, and you could be sure that you would see something chaotic happen next door at Philly International. Someone of note was always visiting.

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The most common sight, the mainstay, was Teddy Pendergrass’ Rolls-Royce. It was so flashy and gaudy. A very Philly thing to do was to double park. That was a God’s lane. Only mortals worried about a curb and a meter. If you double parked out there, no one would ever give you a ticket, especially if you were Teddy Pendergrass. So when he was there you would hear at least seven women screaming in ecstasy.

The artists I remember most aren’t necessarily the ones who were signed to the label. Johnnie Wilder, Jr., the lead singer of Heatwave, was there. He was friends with Teddy Pendergrass but they became closer later when they suffered the same fate, which was being paralyzed in car accidents. Patti LaBelle wasn’t on the label but she was often in the area, and sometimes at the building. You know how there’s always an adult who explains to you what your parents were before you came along? She was that for me. She would say “Oooh, child, your dad was so handsome, still is,” and half-apologize to my mom for overstepping, but keep swooning. That’s how I knew that he was a thing back in the day. If Patti LaBelle is bragging over him he must have been important. And Dyana Williams was there. She was the first lady of Philadelphia soul on the radio, on WDAS. She had been married to Kenny Gamble. She was instrumental in the International Association of African-American Music Foundation, which helped elevate and formalize Black Music Appreciation Month and get a bill passed by Congress in 2000.

In the end, my mind goes to two of the biggest names. In the summer of 1977, Stevie Wonder was spending lots of time in Philadelphia. Let me go through this backwards. When I produced “Lay It Down” for Al Green in 2008 or so, he would say, “Stevie and I were in Philadelphia and we did a song together called ‘I Love You Too Much.’” Now, that is a Stevie song, but it’s on In Square Circle in 1985. Not realizing how far back Stevie sometimes went in his personal vault of recordings, I kind of wrote off what Al was saying. There are always old black guys who will tell you about impossible scenarios. We might have made that “whatever” gesture. Then at one point at studio in Philly was shutting down and the owner called me and said, “There are unclaimed reels. You’d better get over here.” The first thing he unearthed and played me was that duet.

How can Stevie be the second-biggest name? Well, only if the first is Michael Jackson. The Jacksons signed with Philly International in 1976. The partnership would end up yielding two records, The Jacksons and Goin’ Places. Now, the Jacksons had lots of Philly ties that I was unaware of beyond just going for a four-month period to make an album. There was a barbershop that Michael would go to, a hood spot only four blocks from where my house was. Woodard’s Barbershop. And the family also invested in two barbecue spots because some cousins had moved from Gary to Philly. They had photos of them in there, obviously taken after hours. But the main thing I remember is being at school, coming back from recess, and seeing an avalanche of screaming teenage girls spilling out of the school because the Jacksons were stopping by the office to say hello.