image
Genre
philly soul
Parent Genre: R&B

Philly soul is a subgenre of soul music that originated in Philadelphia during the 1970s. It is characterized by its lush orchestration, smooth vocal harmonies, and upbeat rhythms. The genre often features horn sections, string arrangements, and funky basslines. Philly soul artists often sang about love, relationships, and social issues. The genre gained popularity in the 1970s with the rise of record labels such as Philadelphia International Records.


Top artists of philly soul genre

The Spinners
Sister Sledge
Teddy Pendergrass
The O'Jays
Billy Paul
Todd Rundgren
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Patti LaBelle
Show More

philly soul music timeline

Explore philly soul history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to philly soul

Discover more related genres to philly soul genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

classic soul motown disco quiet storm soul funk post-disco southern soul urban contemporary brill building pop rhythm and blues jazz funk chicago soul deep disco northern soul souldies doo-wop new jack swing beach music soft rock
Show More

philly soul playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular philly soul music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of philly soul artists

Here is a list of philly soul artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the philly soul genre. You can find out what philly soul genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
The Spinners
61 0 65 57 42 71 128 838150
2
Sister Sledge
60 0 71 77 19 80 114 588546
3
Teddy Pendergrass
59 1 62 60 36 65 117 1225699
4
The O'Jays
59 0 62 64 34 70 120 1138945
5
Billy Paul
54 1 52 57 39 63 120 261819
6
Todd Rundgren
54 4 49 60 30 60 119 326663
7
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
54 0 60 62 32 63 110 540824
8
Patti LaBelle
53 0 60 59 41 59 126 912573
9
The Stylistics
53 0 54 48 60 55 118 786324
10
Lou Rawls
52 0 60 62 37 72 117 182275
11
The Manhattans
51 0 58 46 35 58 112 562826
12
The Trammps
51 9 73 72 16 79 124 242167
13
The Delfonics
50 5 50 57 61 60 117 497850
14
The Three Degrees
49 1 62 62 33 70 117 175724
15
William DeVaughn
47 8 72 46 29 72 108 30693
16
Loleatta Holloway
47 4 67 76 6 70 118 40845
17
The Jones Girls
45 2 70 58 37 72 117 111235
18
McFadden & Whitehead
44 0 65 72 12 80 120 47107
19
The Intruders
43 0 46 52 46 64 134 211955
20
Fat Larry's Band
42 0 71 67 9 77 111 33554
21
Barbara Mason
41 1 59 52 39 66 123 110449
22
Phyllis Hyman
41 0 64 55 30 60 120 312064
23
Blue Magic
41 1 53 45 55 50 128 223772
24
MFSB
40 53 64 68 20 72 114 75780
25
Archie Bell & The Drells
39 2 61 64 29 74 122 85779
26
Jerry Butler
37 0 47 51 58 61 112 152771
27
First Choice
37 6 62 71 7 68 122 44595
28
Eddie Holman
36 2 43 45 47 52 124 28604
29
The Ritchie Family
35 10 66 76 16 84 121 36497
30
Dee Dee Sharp
34 0 61 59 34 78 133 33159
31
Brenda And The Tabulations
34 2 37 45 58 48 151 5507
32
The Tymes
33 0 57 56 58 60 98 12301
33
Joe Simon
33 0 62 52 46 74 112 68925
34
The Salsoul Orchestra
32 50 71 73 6 83 118 38912
35
People's Choice
32 22 72 70 11 78 120 25663
36
Dexter Wansel
32 23 53 63 18 51 120 33528
37
Norman Connors
31 11 55 68 25 67 120 54918
38
The Sapphires
30 0 53 48 48 77 123 4202
39
Major Harris
29 2 58 46 70 57 123 66060
40
Double Exposure
28 0 53 81 2 65 121 4689
41
Instant Funk
27 11 72 80 3 69 121 56022
42
The Ethics
27 1 50 50 54 51 134 2727
43
Bunny Sigler
26 0 58 67 34 56 116 3439
44
Jay & The Techniques
25 0 69 67 25 87 138 1828
45
Len Barry
24 0 68 56 29 73 134 2305
46
The Ebonys
24 0 50 60 54 61 127 36980
47
Harold Melvin
22 0 0 0 0 0 0 6351
48
Patty & The Emblems
17 0 63 39 61 93 136 763
49
Fantastic Johnny C
17 2 77 71 41 95 141 362
50
Dee Dee Sharp Gamble
16 0 0 0 0 0 0 590
51
Kenny Gamble
12 0 63 34 54 81 100 462
52
Honey and the Bees
10 0 47 65 27 74 114 713
53
Candy & The Kisses
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 238
54
The Fantastic Johnny C
5 21 81 63 18 85 122 179
55
Cindy Gibson
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
56
Honey Love & The Love Notes
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 84