What are the essential Philadelphia Soul albums?

Essential albums include Back Stabbers by The O'Jays, Ship Ahoy by The O'Jays, 360 Degrees of Billy Paul by Billy Paul, Love Is the Message by MFSB, MFSB by MFSB. The full pack covers 10 albums.

When did Philadelphia Soul emerge?

The Philadelphia Soul era spans 1967-1980. The pack covers 12 key timeline events.

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Philadelphia Soul

Q: Who are the key artists in Philadelphia Soul?

Key artists include Gamble & Huff, The O'Jays, MFSB, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and Thom Bell.

How Gamble, Huff, and a team of studio craftsmen put the bow tie on funk and laid the blueprint for disco

Philadelphia / 1967-1980

28 min read · 5 sections · 12 timeline events · 10 albums · 10 stories · connections

Era: 1967-1980
Region: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Key Artists: 5
Albums: 10

Overview

Artists8

Albums10

Timeline12

Stories10

The Scene

Philadelphia in 1971 smelled like possibility. While Motown's assembly line sputtered in Detroit, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff took over 309 South Broad Street—a converted Cameo-Parkway Records building where Chubby Checker had launched the Twist a decade earlier. Philadelphia International Records opened with CBS backing, Clive Davis writing checks that Atlantic Records had refused to cut. Berry Gordy finally had a rival.

Key Artists

Gamble & HuffThe O'JaysMFSBHarold Melvin & the Blue NotesThom Bell

Essential Albums

Back Stabbers

The O'Jays · 1972

Ship Ahoy

The O'Jays · 1973

360 Degrees of Billy Paul

Billy Paul · 1972

Love Is the Message

MFSB · 1973

MFSB

MFSB · 1973

Teddy Pendergrass

Teddy Pendergrass · 1977

+4 more albums inside

Full pack includes

5 deep-dive sections8 artist profiles10 essential albums12 timeline events10 stories

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