Gamble and Huff to co-chair Songwriters Hall

Philadelphia-soul pioneers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff have been elected the new chairmen of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The pair, whose many hits as songwriters include the O'Jays' For the Love of Money and Simply Red's If You Don't Know Me by Now, will lead the organization, which celebrates songwriters and produces programs designed to develop new songwriting talent and educate the public about songwriting achievements.

"I have no doubt that the prestige and magical touch that Kenny and Leon have brought to all things musical will start a wonderful new chapter for our organization," Songwriters Hall of Fame president and CEO Linda Moran said in a statement.

The songwriting pair were inducted into the hall in 1995 and received Johnny Mercer Award, the hall's highest honor, last year.

Gamble and Huff have been working together since the early '60s, writing and producing such hits as the Soul Survivors' Expressway to Your Heart and The Intruders' Cowboys to Girls. In 1971, they formed Philadelphia International Records, which released hits by such artists as the O'Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Paul, and the Three Degrees, as well as MFSB's TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), best known as the theme song for the television show Soul Train. The five-time Grammy winners were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

This year's Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner will take place Thursday at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel and will honor new inductees Bobby Braddock, Willie Dixon, Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia, Toby Keith, Cindy Lauper and Linda Perry, with Van Morrison, Lady Gaga, Nate Ruess and John LoFrumento receiving special awards.