Editing Philadelphia Sound (section)

== Origins ==

Philadelphia had been a center for Black popular music since the 1950s, with artists like Chubby Checker, the Dovells, and others recording hits in the city. Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," broadcast from Philadelphia, had introduced American audiences to rock and roll and early soul. By the mid-1960s, songwriters and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were developing the sophisticated sound that would define Philly Soul.<ref name="phillysoul"/>

Gamble and Huff's productions combined elements of rhythm and blues, gospel, and classical music, using orchestral arrangements that distinguished their sound from the grittier productions coming from Memphis or the more pop-oriented Motown. Their use of strings, horns, and vibraphones created a lush sonic environment that appealed to both Black and white audiences.<ref name="phillysoul"/>

Sigma Sound Studios, located at 212 North 12th Street, became the laboratory where Philly Soul was created. The studio's acoustic properties and the musicians who gathered there—MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother), the house band whose members played on virtually every major Philly Soul recording—were essential to the distinctive sound. Sigma became as identified with Philly Soul as Motown's Hitsville or Stax's studio in Memphis.<ref name="phillysoul"/>