Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. The genre laid the groundwork for disco 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. Fred Wesley, the trombonist of the James Brown band and Parliament-Funkadelic, described the signature deep but orchestrated sound as "putting the bow tie on funk."
Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, "I Got My Mind Made Up ".
Loleatta Holloway was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation". In December 2016, Billboard named her the 95th-most successful dance artist of all time. According to the Independent, Holloway is the most sampled female singer in popular music, used in house and dance tracks such as the 1989 Black Box single "Ride on Time".
Walter Gibbons was an American record producer, early disco DJ, and remixer. He helped pioneer the remix and 12" single in America, and was among the most influential New York DJs of the 1970s.
Patrick Peter Owen Adams was an American music arranger and record producer. He earned 32 gold and platinum records.
Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre. Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, and a string of albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
Norman Ray Harris was an American guitarist, producer, music arranger and songwriter, closely associated with Philly soul. He was a founding member of MFSB, the Philadelphia studio band, and one of the Baker-Harris-Young record production trio.
Cándido Camero Guerra, known simply as Cándido, was a Cuban conga and bongo player. He is considered a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and an innovator in conga drumming. He was responsible for the embracing of the tuneable conga drum, the first to play multiple congas developing the techniques that all players use today, as well as the combination of congas, bongos, and other instruments such as the foot-operated cowbell, an attached guiro, all played by just one person. Thus he is the creator of the multiple percussion set-up.
Tommy McCook was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One Studios in the 1970s.
Eric Gale was an American jazz and R&B guitarist.
"Ride on Time" is a song by the Italian house music group Black Box. It was released as a single in July 1989 and included on Black Box's debut album, Dreamland (1990).
"Love Sensation" is a 1980 song performed by American R&B singer Loleatta Holloway, taken from her album of the same name. The song was produced and written by Dan Hartman, arranged by Norman Harris, and mixed by Tom Moulton. It was a hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, where the song spent a week at No. 1 in September 1980. It was widely sampled, particularly in house music, such as in the 1989 Black Box song "Ride on Time".
Richard Edward Tee was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", "Slip Slidin' Away", "Just the Two of Us", "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow ", "Crackerbox Palace", "Tell Her About It", "Don't Give Up" and many others.
The Right Stuff Records is an American reissue record label that was part of EMI, which is now owned by Universal Music Group and is based out of Santa Monica, California.
Floyd George Smith, sometimes credited as Floyd "Guitar" Smith, was an American jazz guitarist and record producer.
"Run Away" is a 1977 disco single written by Ronnie James and Vincent Montana, Jr. and performed by the Salsoul Orchestra with featured vocals by Loleatta Holloway. The single was from the band's Magic Journey album. Along with the tracks, "Magic Bird of Fire", and "Getaway", "Run Away" went to #3 on the US disco chart. On the soul chart, "Run Away" peaked at #84.
Thomas Joshua Tindall was an American guitarist. He was a member of MFSB and played on 38 gold and platinum funk and R&B records and more than 30 hits produced by Gamble and Huff in the 1970s and 1980s. Tindall is considered one of the architects of the Philadelphia Sound. He was inducted twice into the Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame as a member of MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra.
"Runaway" is a song by Nuyorican Soul, a project by the American house-garage production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. It features Puerto Rican singer and songwriter India and was released in 1996 by Mercury Records and Talkin' Loud as the first and lead single from their debut album, Nuyorican Soul (1997). The song is a cover of The Salsoul Orchestra's recording "Run Away", featuring American singer Loleatta Holloway from 1977. The new version was very successful in clubs and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. In Europe, it peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart, but was even more successful on the UK Dance Chart, where it hit number-one. Additionally, it was a top 30 hit in Iceland, and a top 40 hit in Germany. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song reached number 75 in February 1997.
Andrew Alexander "Mike" Terry was an American saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, producer and musical director. His baritone sax solos feature on the breakthrough hits of Martha and the Vandellas, and The Supremes. As a member of the Funk Brothers he performed on thousands of Motown recordings from 1960 to 1967, including at least seven US #1 hits. As was Motown's policy at the time, none of the studio musicians were credited by name. Terry was the musical arranger of the 1966 hit "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols, and later became a record producer, with partners including George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, and Jack Ashford.
This entire article was written during a personal interview with Tommy Stewart on January 5 and 6, 2008.
