Featuring female solo artist
By the 1980s, “The Sound of Philadelphia” was no longer the
dominating musical force in the music industry, but it still managed to record
outstanding tracks of high quality and impact. The sound was eventually overtaken
by the “Minneapolis Signature Sound” according to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who
were responsible for Janet Jackson major success and other artists.
| The album containing the hit single. |
During 1980s several Philadelphia based record producers
managed to produce bona fide classic hits as early as 1982, starting with Deniece
Williams hit single “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” which peaked at number-one on the
Billboard Hot Soul Singles Chart week-ending 15th May 1982 (2 weeks)
.Both the single and the entire album "Niecy" was produced by the legendary Thom Bell (
one of the key music architect of Philadelphia Sound) and supported by many of
the musicians who worked at the famous Sigma Sound Studios during the golden
era of the “Philadelphia Soul Sound”.
| The gold certified album "I'm In Love Again" |
The following single to make
it to the number-one
position on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles Chart was a song recorded by Patti
LaBelle entitled “If Only You Knew”. The single was produced and co-written by
Dexter Wansel with Cynthia Biggs and Kenny Gamble. The song was extracted from
Patti LaBelle’s first gold album of her career. The album “I’m In Love Again”
was the last Top 40 album on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart listing for
Philadelphia International Records and the first for Patti LaBelle. The single “If
Only You Knew” peaked at number-one week-ending 28th January 1984 (4
weeks). Also Patti LaBelle was the first female solo artist on the world famous
record label to have a gold album and a number-one single on the Billboard Hot
Soul Singles Chart.
Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
©Signaturesoundsonline2013-2015
Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
©Signaturesoundsonline2013-2015
