Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, multi-instrumentalist and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

who did extensive work with the team of

Kenny Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

, and was instrumental in creating the " Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.

Career

Sigler was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, United States, and was nicknamed "Bunny" by his family as a young child. He sang in churches, and joined several local

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

groups, including the Opals, in which he sang with his brother James Sigler, Ritchie Rome and Jack Faith. By the late 1950s he had started performing in local venues as a singer and pianist, and he first recorded for the V-Tone Records label in 1959.

then recommended him to

s John Medora and Dave White at Cameo-Parkway Records. His second single for the Parkway label, a medley of two Shirley and Lee hits, " Let the Good Times Roll & Feel So Good", rose on both the national pop and R&B charts, reaching #20 R&B and #22 pop in 1967. The follow-up, another medley, this time of two doo-wop songs, " Lovey Dovey"/" You're So Fine", also reached the R&B chart in the same year. After Cameo-Parkway folded, around 1970 Sigler began working as a songwriter with

and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records. In partnership with writer Phil Hurtt, Sigler wrote songs for the O'Jays including "Sunshine" and "When the World Is at Peace". He also wrote songs solo and with Gamble, and his compositions were recorded by many of the Philadelphia International artistes. He discovered a group, Instant Funk, and began again recording as a singer. He had his first chart success for six years in 1973 with a remake of the Bobby Lewis hit " Tossin' and Turnin'" (#38 R&B, #97 pop), and had several further minor R&B chart hits on Philadelphia International in the mid-1970s, including his version of " Love Train", and "Keep Smilin'". He also released several albums in the mid-1970s, on which he was backed by the MFSB musicians as well as Instant Funk. Sigler continued to work as a songwriter and producer for artistes including

the Whispers The Whispers is an American group from Los Angeles, California, who have scored hit records since the late 1960s. They are best known for their two number one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1980 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispe ...

, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, Carl Carlton, Jackie Moore, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes,

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimm ...

, Billy Paul, Lou Rawls,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, Stephanie Mills and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

. He also appeared on "Soul Train" where he sang his song, "That's How Long I'll Be Loving You", and released a duo album with Barbara Mason. In 1977, he moved to the Gold Mind label, set up by MFSB musician Norman Harris and distributed by Salsoul Records. There, he had his biggest R&B hit, reaching #8 in early 1978 with "Let Me Party With You (Party, Party, Party)". He also continued to work with Instant Funk on their breakthrough hit "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)", and with other acts on Salsoul. In 1978, his recording with Loleatta Holloway, "Only You", reached #11 on the national R&B chart and #87 on the pop chart. From the 1980s, Sigler continued to write and produce for musicians including

, and Shirley Jones of the Jones Girls. He sang the 23rd Psalm at the ceremony awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...

on March 29, 2007, at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...

. He also co-wrote "The Ruler's Back", the opening song on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' The Blueprint'' by Jay-Z. Sigler died of a heart attack on October 6, 2017, at the age of 76.

Discography

Studio albums

*1967: ''Let the Good Times Roll & Feel So Good'' (Parkway PS-50,000) *1974: ''That's How Long I'll Be Loving You'' (Philadelphia International) *1975: ''Keep Smilin (Philadelphia International) *1976: ''My Music'' (Philadelphia International) *1977: ''Locked in This Position'' (with Barbara Mason) *1977: ''Let Me Party With You'' (Gold Mind) *1979: ''I've Always Wanted to Sing ... Not Just Write Songs'' (Gold Mind) *1980: ''Let It Snow'' (Sal-Soul) *2003: ''Let Me Love You Tonight'' (Grapevine Records) *2008: ''The Lord's Prayer'' (101 Distribution) *2012: ''From Bunny With Love & a Little Soul'' (Bun-Z Music & Records) *2012: ''"When You're in Love at Christmas Time" ''(Bun-Z Music & Records)' *2015: ''Bundino'' (Bun-Z Music & Records)

Compilation albums

*1996: ''The Best of Bunny Sigler: Sweeter Than the Berry'' (Sony/Legacy) *1998: ''Bunny Sigler'' (Sony Special Products) *2006: ''The Best of Philly Soul — Vol. 2'' (That Philly Sound) *2007: ''A Soulful Tale of Two Cities'' (Soul Renaissance Records) Songs performed by Sigler appear on 53 compilations

Singles

*1965 "For Crying Out Loud" US Decca *1966: "Comparatively Speaking" US Decca *1966: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" US Decca *1966: "Girl Don't Make Me Wait" *1967: "Let The Good Times Roll & Feel So Good" (#22 pop, #20 R&B) *1967: " Lovey Dovey / You're So Fine" (#86 pop) *1967: "Follow Your Heart" / "Can You Dig It" *1967: "There's No Love Left (In This Old Heart of Mine)" *1970: "

Don't Stop Doing What You're Doing Don't, Dont, or DONT may refer to: Films * ''Don't'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent comedy film * ''Don't'' (1974 film), a 1974 film about the monarch butterfly * ''Don't'', a fake trailer from the film '' Grindhouse'' (2007) Songs * "Don't" (Bil ...

" *1970: " Where Do The Lonely Go" *1972: " Heaven Knows I've Changed" *1973: "

Theme For Five Fingers of Death Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

" *1973: " Tossin' and Turnin'" (#97 pop, #38 R&B) *1974: " Love Train (Part 1)" (#28 R&B) *1974: "Keep Smilin'" (#46 R&B) *1975: "Shake Your Booty" *1976: "My Music" (#98 R&B) *1977: "

Let Me Party With You (Party, Party, Party) Let or LET may refer to: Sports * Let serve, when the served object in certain racket sports hits the net and lands in the correct service court, such as; ** Let (badminton) ** Let (pickleball) ** Let (tennis) * Ladies European Tour, the ladie ...

" (#43 pop, #8 R&B) *1977: "Locked in This Position" (with Barbara Mason) *1978: "I Got What You Need" (#42 R&B) *1978: "Only You" (with Loleatta Holloway) (#87 pop, #11 R&B) *1978: "Don't Even Try (Give It Up)" (#94 R&B) *1979: "By The Way You Dance (I Knew It Was You)" (#37 R&B) *1979: "

Glad To Be Your Lover Glad may refer to: * Glad (Norse mythology), a horse ridden by the gods in Norse mythology People * Emil Glad (1929–2009), Croatian actor * Ingrid Kristine Glad (born 1965), Norwegian statistician * John Glad (1941–2015), an American acade ...

" *1986: "What Would You Do Without Love" *2001: "Are You a Freak (Like Me?)" (with

Prince Dred A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

) *2007: "Got To Give It Up" *2015: "When I Think of You" *2015: "Buttermilk and Cornbread" *2016: "Lavada"

References

External links

*
Bunny Sigler
interview in Soul Express in July 2015
"Hanging With a Legend"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigler, Bunny 1941 births 2017 deaths Philadelphia International Records artists African-American pianists American organists American male organists 20th-century American keyboardists African-American guitarists American multi-instrumentalists Songwriters from Pennsylvania Record producers from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia Northern soul musicians American male pianists 20th-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters