“The Philadelphia Sound” has a signature of its own. Created by Bunny Sigler, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, think songs like “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” by McFadden & Whitehead or TSOP, which became the theme song for Soul Train.
Before that era, some legends came from the City of Brotherly Love. Billie Holliday, Marian Anderson, The Stylistics, Billy Paul. Italians gravitated to Mario Lanza and Frankie Avalon. A dizzying array of elite-level jazz artists like Grover Washington, Jr. and John Coltrane called Philly home.
Then the 80s hit. Hall & Oates, anyone? The 90s. Will Smith, Boyz II Men. Hip hop. Freeway, Meek Mill.
It’s an endless buffet of audio delights, with far too many artists and musical movements to list. It would also take hours and days to get through it all.
Brian Anderson, founder and CCO of The Perception, joined this episode of Monday Morning Radio: It’s a Philly Thing. He full-on acknowledged that there were some tough choices to make (including one Musiq Soulchild song switch), but it remained a joyful look at what makes the city’s music so special.
You can hear the full show on Soundcloud with a Go+ subscription. Or, you can roll through the playlists below and catch the talk breaks on Soundcloud.
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Doug Zanger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Indie Agency News. He is also the founder of the Creative Bohemian consultancy, lives in the Pacific Northwest and is insufferable about it.
