Bill Nicoletti
Reminding the World of the Philly Sound
By Jay S. Jacobs
Bill Nicoletti grew up steeped in the sound of Philadelphia. His hometown was one of the hubs of popular music – and in particular for soul music – for much of the 1960s and 1970s. It changed his life, both as a music fan and now as a documentary filmmaker. His new film The Philly Sound: Heard ‘Round the World is an exploration of Philadelphia’s huge sway on popular music during that time period, and specifically about the legendary musical studio Sigma Sound.
It started out with the Cameo-Parkway years in the early 60s, where a group of artists like Chubby Checker, the Tymes, The Orlons, The Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, Charlie Gracie and the golden boys of Bandstand, the teeny-bopper heartthrobs Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell.
However, the Sound of Philadelphia really took off in the 1970s when Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell created Philadelphia International Records. They started an avalanche of smooth soul hits by the likes of The O’Jays, The Spinners, The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Patti Labelle, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (featuring Teddy Pendergrass) and many more. The groove was so undeniable that they even hit the top of the charts with a mostly instrumental dance track called “The Sound of Philadelphia,” by M.F.S.B., which was a group made up of studio musicians who worked for Philly International.
All of those songs – and many others – were recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, which was opened by former Cameo-Parkway engineer Joe Tarsia in 1968. In fact, at the height of its run, such superstars as David Bowie, Elton John and Michael Jackson recorded at Sigma Sound. (A quick clip at the end of the documentary also shows that it was the place where a then 13-year-old Taylor Swift recorded her first demos.) Things got so big that Sigma Sound opened a New York branch, where a then-unknown Madonna recorded her first album, as well as a Talking Heads album and even the Village People’s hit debut was laid down.
Eventually, after decades of influencing musical styles, the synthesizer made the need for a huge recording space somewhat obsolete. Eventually, Tarsia sold Sigma Sound in 2003, and it closed for good in 2014. Luckily plans to renovate the building for business, residential and retail space were overturned when the studio was declared a historical site by the city. However, for the most part, the building has been allowed to fall apart, in fact some scenes of former owner Tarsia visiting the wreck of the building made for some of the most heartfelt moments in the documentary.
Right before the movie premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival, we were able to chat with director Bill Nicoletti to discuss his still-in-progress labor of love. (Nicoletti still has to raise money for the musical rights before the film can be widely released.)
What do you think it is about Philadelphia that's made it such a haven for soul for all these years?
It depends on who you're talking to. I think Philadelphia, back in the late 50s, early 60s, became a melting pot. I'm a firm believer that [American] Bandstand was the springboard for everything. And the Uptown Theater, because, as you'll hear in the film, The Uptown was a place for artists to come through. It was just a new sound that was happening in the late 60s that came out of a lot of influences at the time, certainly jazz, certainly the Philadelphia Orchestra, a lot of different outside influences.
While a lot of people know the music of the sound of Philadelphia, they don't necessarily know all the artists like they do with Motown.
Right.
Why do you think the artists of the Philly sound are a little bit more anonymous?
I think that's intentional. Berry Gordy, that was his thing. He was a star machine. He put out stars where Philadelphia music was about the songwriters. It was about the producers. Joe Tarsia, the engineer, the studio. Mind you, they did have Patti Labelles and Teddy Pendergrasses, but they certainly weren't household names like Motown was.
How did you first learn about the legacy of Sigma Sound?
I was introduced to Joe Tarsia in the late 80s. Not long after, I moved into Sigma as a tenant. I was an editor, and they had some space. So I was basically living there, just renting space, developing a relationship with Joe.
Who were some of the people that were most important for you to talk to for this film? And who are some of the people that you wish you could have, but through different things, like, a lot of them are dead unfortunately, you weren't able to?
Kenny Gamble was very high on my list. Tommy Bell, Leon Huff and Joe. They were the four pillars. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't have the integrity of the film. Beyond that, some of the recognizable names, like the O'Jays, were important. Members of The Stylistics, The Delfonics. The one that was the most elusive for me was Daryl Hall. I really wanted him because Joe told me a lot of stories about him. People wouldn't have known how much he played a part of those early years. He was a hard cat to get. When I got him, I didn't think he would add more than just content for act one, but he gave us content for the whole film. He was phenomenal.
What were some of the old film clips or songs that you found that were particularly exciting for you?
The Manhattans, “Kiss and Say Goodbye.” It's funny because the natural tendency is for people to go towards the hits. I want to hear “For the Love of Money” or “Backstabbers” or whatever. Which are phenomenal songs, but from a storytelling convention, I wanted songs that maybe people haven't heard in a few years. Songs that we used were like a character in the film. So the stories drove everything for us, as far as the music. I didn't want to be a slave to any particular song at any given time. Are you going to watch the film?
Yes.
You'll see that there's about 10 songs that have to be in there the way they were telling the story. Then there's another 50 because there's a lot of music in this film, that doesn’t have to be there.
One last question, it's been 10 years since you've been making this film. How important is it to you that now you're able to show it at the Philadelphia Film Festival, which is the town where it all began?
How important? As important it was to Rocky Balboa to have his fight at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. (laughs) I’m a Philadelphian. This is the Philadelphia topic, and we're in Philadelphia. How can it be better?
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 27, 2024.
Photos by Jay S. Jacobs © 2024. All rights reserved.
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