(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
MFSB & the Three Degrees - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"
Hit Number 1: April 20, 1974
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
For 35 years, there was a TV show called Soul Train, which was a showcase for soul, disco and eventually hip hop artists to perform their songs. They would perform their songs and their audience would often dance to the music. In a climate like the early '70s, it was a valuable showcase for African American artists, and looking at old clips of the broadcasts on YouTube, it looked like it was a really fun show back in the day. Especially once disco was making its rounds, but in 1974, it was approaching fast. In fact, the theme song for Soul Train for many years was a philly soul song, which was really just early disco. That theme song for Soul Train would go on to become a major hit, making it all the way to #1.
Of course, that song was "TSOP", which stands for "the sound of Philadelphia", and it was written by the duo songwriting team Gamble & Huff. The artist is credited as being by MFSB, which stands for "Mother, Father, Sister, Brother." MFSB wasn't a real band, they were a bunch of studio musicians who performed the song. When the song was being strongly considered for single release, it was finally allowed by the host, producer and founder of Soul Train, Don Cornelius. However, Cornelius didn't want the single release to have the name Soul Train tied to it, so instead of being titled with something like "Theme from Soul Train" it was instead a generic thing like "The Sound of Philadelphia". That title, although generic, is appropriate and it works. Philly soul was popular, but it was only getting more popular as time was going on. "TSOP" introduced even more people to the excitement that was coming from Philadelphia.
I'm not real sure why Cornelius was reluctant to include the words Soul Train on the single, but he wound up regretting it. He might have assumed that the theme song would be a flop on the charts, but the man should have known better if that was the case. This crap was about ready to dominate. Disco was right around the corner, and that genre only got more fuel added to it with "TSOP". "TSOP" was an exploding fusion of soul and dance music. It's almost entirely an instrumental, with the only singing being by the notable girl group, the Three Degrees. (The Three Degrees will not appear in this blog by themselves. But they almost could have. They made it to #2 later in 1974 with "When Will I See You Again", a freaking amazing song. It's a 9) The Three Degrees only chip in with some "People all over the worlds" and "It's time to get down". Of course, they give you some good old classic "oohs" and "ahhs" too, but the Three Degrees are only there as background vocals to everything else. They blend into everything.
All in all, "TSOP" is a very fun song. The strings are clean and the horn section plays along with them. They both intertwine with each other gracefully, and once the Three Degrees jump in, they do the same. It's not the kind of song that's going to stick with you for the rest of the day, but it's easy to enjoy while it's on. It's just a big burst of the new musical excitement that was philly soul. Even the drastic changes of key the song has are cool; it's almost like two songs in one. The first part is a bright and happy dance song and the second part is a little more intense. There truly is a lot of cool action going on in the song.
I actually love that the name of the song is "The Sound of Philadelphia", as it's a damn near perfect title for it. It's the perfect representation of what was coming out of that city. In real life I don't care for Philadelphia too much, but in the early '70s, there were some real bangers coming out of there. "TSOP" is just another one of those.
GRADE: 8/10
IN POP CULTURE:
This is a new segment I'm adding in to these reviews. This is going to include scenes from movies or TV shows that have the songs I'm reviewing in them. However, I'm immediately going to have to bend my own rules. "TSOP" isn't featured in any movies or TV shows, at least that I can find, so I'll go with this. This is a cover that Dexy's Midnight Runners did of the song in the '80s.
(Dexy's Midnight Runners will eventually appear in this blog)
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