Philadelphia International Records
Alright, I admit it. There’s more Philly Soul covered in this column than music from any other soul capitol. There are a few reasons for that, the primary one being…
Some glorious Philadelphia soul preceded the glory years of Philly Soul
The Ebonys had some chart success but never quite got the break they needed to really break through
A leading figure in the rise of Philly Soul, Bunny Sigler scored his own hit in ’67
The funky People’s Choice scored big in ’71 and bigger in ’75
In 1979 the songwriting and producing team stepped out for a smash of their own
Billy Paul’s career was not limited to one hit single
The Intruders weren’t the biggest but they were the first for Gamble & Huff
One great song, three great versions. Which is your favorite?
Barbara Mason had an early Philly Soul hit in ’65
“Stop, Look, Listen” began a chart roll for the team of the Stylistics and producer Thom Bell
The Intruders were one of the most important groups in soul music history.
Archie Bell & the Drells weren’t shy about telling you where they were from. Their highly influential hit “Tighten Up” was released in 1968.
The O’Jays are best known as a hit-making trio, but they started as a quintet, and had one of their earliest hits as a quartet.
The Three Degrees had been around for more than ten years by the time they hit it big in 1974.
Ken Shane reflects on the first birthday of his weekly Soul Serenade column and gifts another classic soul megamix to our readers.
In 1982, Teddy Pendergrass was on top of the music world when he performed in London. A few weeks later, a tragic car accident changed everything.
Last weekend I attended a Triple-A radio conference in Philadelphia. The event is called Non-Comm (as in noncommercial radio), and I’ll be writing more about it soon. One of the…
Retro-soul is a musical style in which contemporary artists attempt to recapture the sound and feel of the great soul music of the ’60s and early ’70s. Musical touchstones include…
The career-spanning, four-disc box set Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates comes out October 13, and in anticipation of its…
I love soul music in each and every one of its glorious permutations, so it’s been gratifying for me to listen as a new generation of soul masters has taken…
Ah, the fourth quarter. It isn’t as much of an event as it used to be, but even as the music industry crumbles to dust before our very eyes, artists…
Note: My brother’s visiting from out of town this week, so I’ve got less time than I normally do for blog-type stuff; fortunately, our friend Robert, of the always entertaining…