Philly soul - Definition and Overview

For the American indoor football team, see Philadelphia Soul.

Philadelphia (or Philly) soul, sometimes called the Philadelphia Sound, is a style of soul music characterized by lush instrumental arrangements often featuring sweeping strings and horns. The result is a much smoother sound compared to the more funky and gritty Southern and deep soul styles.

Due to the emphasis on sound and arrangement and the relative anonymity of many of the style's players, Philly soul is often considered a producers' genre. Philly soul songwriters and producers, including Thom Bell, Linda Creed, and 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 Philly 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 Philly soul song "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" in 1974.

Philly 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 Philly soul artists include:

• The O'Jays
• The Spinners
• The Stylistics
• The Delfonics
• Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
• MFSB
• Teddy Pendergrass