The Philadelphia Signature Soul Sound during the 1980s Pt 1

                                                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 15^th 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 28^th 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                   
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