You Must Hear 7

philly soul

Last updated:

Description

Philly soul emerged from Philadelphia in the late 1960s and 1970s, blending smooth R&B vocals with lush orchestral arrangements featuring strings, horns, and sophisticated production. The genre emphasized romantic themes and polished harmonies, creating a more refined alternative to grittier soul styles. Its influence shaped disco and contemporary R&B through its emphasis on danceable grooves and elegant instrumentation.

100 chronological releases

Place Cover Date Artist Album Tags Other places
27 1972 The O'Jays Back Stabbers
36 Cover for Greatest Hits 1972 The Delfonics Greatest Hits
42 1972 Various Artists Philadelphia Roots
45 1972 Billy Paul 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
79 1972 The Stylistics Round 2
59 1972 Detroit Emeralds You Want It, You Got It
71 Cover for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes 1972-08 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
70 Cover for Ship Ahoy 1973 The O'Jays Ship Ahoy
96 Cover for Rockin' Roll Baby 1973 The Stylistics Rockin' Roll Baby
7 Cover for Philadelphia Classics 1973 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Philadelphia Classics
34 Cover for The Stylistics Greatest Love Hits 1973 The Stylistics The Stylistics Greatest Love Hits
39 Cover for Conquer The World: The Lost Soul Of Philadelphia International Records 1973 Yellow Sunshine Conquer The World: The Lost Soul Of Philadelphia International Records
72 Cover for Backtracks 1973 Ohio Players Backtracks
73 1973 The Intruders Save the Children
85 1973 MFSB MFSB
92 1973 MFSB Love Is The Message
95 Cover for The Three Degrees 1973 The Three Degrees The Three Degrees
24 Cover for The Very Best Of 1974 The Stylistics The Very Best Of
50 1974 Bunny Sigler Keep Smilin'
53 Cover for Alive & Kicking 1974 The Delfonics Alive & Kicking
54 Cover for The Stylistics 1974 The Stylistics The Stylistics
77 Cover for The Very Best of the Stylistics ... And More! 1974 The Stylistics The Very Best of the Stylistics ... And More!
56 Cover for Ecstasy, Passion & Pain 1974 Ecstasy, Passion & Pain Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
100 1975 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Wake Up Everybody
9 1975 Archie Bell and The Drells Dance Your Troubles Away
52 Cover for Philadelphia Freedom 1975 MFSB Philadelphia Freedom
86 Cover for Survival 1975 The O'Jays Survival
88 1975 Billy Paul When Love Is New
1 Cover for This Is My Song 1976 Deniece Williams This Is My Song
11 Cover for Essential Soul Collection vol. 6 1976 The Salsoul Orchestra Essential Soul Collection vol. 6
19 Cover for All-Time Classics 1976 The Stylistics All-Time Classics
21 Cover for Travelin' In Heavy Traffic 1976 Don Covay Travelin' In Heavy Traffic
58 Cover for Greatest Hits 1976 The Tymes Greatest Hits
66 1976 MFSB Summertime
87 Cover for The Very Best Of Lou Rawls 1976 Lou Rawls The Very Best Of Lou Rawls
98 1976 Lou Rawls All Things In Time
40 1977 First Choice Delusions
51 Cover for The Best Of Philly Soul - Vol. 2 1977 Bunny Sigler The Best Of Philly Soul - Vol. 2
61 Cover for Unmistakably Lou 1977 Lou Rawls Unmistakably Lou
78 Cover for Only The Strong Survive 1977 Billy Paul Only The Strong Survive
82 Cover for When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All 1977 Lou Rawls When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All
13 Cover for The Greatest Hits Live 1978 The Stylistics The Greatest Hits Live
62 Cover for Philly Golden Classics 1978 First Choice Philly Golden Classics
33 1978-01-17 Eddie Kendricks At His Best
43 1979 Splendor Splendor
20 Cover for Love Train 1979 The Three Degrees Love Train
80 Cover for Mcfadden And Whitehead 1979 McFadden & Whitehead Mcfadden And Whitehead
97 Cover for The Jones Girls 1979 The Jones Girls The Jones Girls
64 Cover for Hold Your Horses 1979-02-26 First Choice Hold Your Horses
90 1979-03-02 Edwin Birdsong Edwin Birdsong
93 Cover for MCFadden & Whitehead 1979-04-27 McFadden & Whitehead MCFadden & Whitehead
2 Cover for Total Soul Classics - Here to Create Music 1980 Leon Huff Total Soul Classics - Here to Create Music
15 Cover for Breakaway 1980 First Choice Breakaway
32 1980 Leon Huff Here to Create Music
89 Cover for Love Sensation 1980 Loleatta Holloway Love Sensation
29 Cover for Love And More 1985 The O'Jays Love And More
46 1988 Billy Paul The very best of
69 Cover for Total Soul Classics - Wake Up Everybody 1989 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Total Soul Classics - Wake Up Everybody
25 Cover for SUPER HITS 1990 Intruders SUPER HITS
55 Cover for The Very Best Of The Stylistics 1990-05-02 The Stylistics The Very Best Of The Stylistics
38 1991 The Stylistics Love Talk
23 1992-02-25 Lou Rawls Legendary
41 Cover for Total Soul Classics - 360 Degrees of Billy Paul 1993-09-09 Billy Paul Total Soul Classics - 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
63 1994 Lou Rawls For You My Love
60 Cover for Cowboys to Girls: The Best of the Intruders: 1995 The Intruders Cowboys to Girls: The Best of the Intruders:
68 Cover for The Essential Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes 1995 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes The Essential Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
94 1995 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes The Best of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
81 Cover for The Best of the Three Degrees: When Will I See You Again 1996-06-04 The Three Degrees The Best of the Three Degrees: When Will I See You Again
57 1996-12-03 Patti LaBelle Greatest Hits
4 Cover for Shake It Well: The Best of the Dramatics 1974-1980 1998 The Dramatics Shake It Well: The Best of the Dramatics 1974-1980
16 Cover for The Best of the O'Jays: 1976-1991 1998 The O'Jays The Best of the O'Jays: 1976-1991
17 1998-02-17 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Blue Notes & Ballads
18 Cover for All the Hits Plus More 1999 The Three Degrees All the Hits Plus More
76 1999-04-06 Billy Paul Me And Mrs. Jones: The Best Of Billy Paul
28 2001 The Three Degrees Greatest Hits
91 2001-04-10 The O'Jays The Ultimate O'Jays
67 2001-08-21 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes The Ultimate Blue Notes
74 Cover for Super Hits 2002 The Intruders Super Hits
49 2003 Various Artists The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff And The Story of Brotherly Love (1966 - 1976)
5 Cover for The Best of Philly Soul - Vol. 3 2004 Maureen Gray The Best of Philly Soul - Vol. 3
22 Cover for Greatest Hits Live 2004 The O'Jays Greatest Hits Live
75 2004 The O'Jays Imagination
31 Cover for Stand Up 2004-10-19 Loleatta Holloway Stand Up
35 Cover for The Best of First Choice 2005-03 First Choice The Best of First Choice
26 Cover for Greatest Hits 2005-11-29 The Stylistics Greatest Hits
47 2006 Sabrina Cuie Body Language
3 Cover for The Antonelli Orchestra Loves Christmas 2007 The Antonelli Orchestra The Antonelli Orchestra Loves Christmas
12 2007 The Stylistics Very Best Of The Stylistics
84 2007-11-05 Teddy Pendergrass The Essential Teddy Pendergrass
83 2008 The O'Jays The Essential O'Jays
99 Cover for An Evening With Silk Sonic 2012-12-03 Bruno Mars An Evening With Silk Sonic
6 Cover for The Best of - Cowboys to Girls 2014 The Intruders The Best of - Cowboys to Girls
44 Cover for An Evening With Silk Sonic 2021-11-12 Silk Sonic An Evening With Silk Sonic
48 Cover for An Evening With Silk Sonic 2021-11-12 SILK SONIC An Evening With Silk Sonic
8 Cover for Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia 2023 Various Artists Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia
37 2023 Various Artists From Philly With Love
65 Cover for Levan Style Disco Mix 2023 Various Artists Levan Style Disco Mix
14 That Philly Sound Presents The Best of Northern Soul
10 The Best of Northern Soul Vol. 2 Compilation CD
30 Kenny Gamble/April Young/Candy & Kisses/Tommy DeNoble/Superbs Yo Philadelphia! Look What I Found