- For the American arena football team, see Philadelphia Soul.
| Philadelphia Soul |
| Stylistic origins: |
Soul music |
| Cultural origins: |
Philadelphia |
| Typical instruments: |
Strings - Horns -
Vocals |
| Mainstream popularity: |
throughout the 1970s |
| Regional scenes |
| Philadelphia |
Philadelphia (or Philly) soul, sometimes called the Philadelphia Sound or Sweet Philly, is a style of
soul music characterized by funk influences and lush
instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and stabbing horns. The genre laid the groundwork for what are now
considered disco, Adult contemporary and
smooth jazz by fusing the R & B rhythm sections of the 1960s with the Pop Vocal
tradition, and featuring a slightly more pronounced Jazz influence in its melodic structures and arrangements. Afro-Caribbean percussion would slowly seep into the genre as the (New York-based) Salsoul label picked up the torch from the Philly-based labels and producers that had founded the
genre.
The style
Due to the emphasis on sound and arrangement and the relative anonymity of many of the "style's" players, Philadelphia soul is
often considered a producers' genre.[citation needed]
Philadelphia soul or the sound of Philadelphia songwriters and producers included
Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Norman Harris, Dexter Wansel and the production teams of
Gene McFadden and John Whitehead, and
Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (the latter pair of
Philadelphia International Records) worked with a stable of
studio musicians to develop the unique Philadelphia sound used as backing for many
different singing acts. Many of these musicians would record as the instrumental group MFSB, which
had a hit with the seminal Philadelphia soul song "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" in 1974. A
notable extension of the Philadelphia sound were bassist Ronald
Baker, guitarist Norman Harris and
drummer/Trammps baritone
Earl Young, (B-H-Y) who also recorded as the Trammps and would produce records themselves.
These three were the base rhythm section for MFSB and branched off into a sub-label of
Philadelphia International, called Golden Fleece, distributed by CBS Records (now Sony BMG), after which Harris created the Gold Mind label, in conjunction with
SalSoul. Gold Mind's roster included First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, and Love
Committee (all of whom would feature Baker/Harris/Young productions of their material. Their hit by Double Exposure, Ten Percent,
(1976) was the first commercial 12-inch single. The Salsoul Orchestra was composed of key players from MFSB. Salsoul Orchestra (as its name implies)
leaned toward R&B-Latin-fused musical flavor. The group was conducted by
one-time Mike Douglas television show
bandleader/vibraphonist, Vincent Montana Jr., another founding MFSB member.
Philadelphia soul was popular throughout the 1970s and it set the stage for the studio constructions of disco and
urban contemporary music that emerged later in the decade.
Notable artists
Notable Philadelphia soul artists include:
See also
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