Philly Groove Records was a soul music label started by Stan Watson and Sam Bell in 1967, with noted producer

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

doing A&R. The label's best-known artists were male vocal group the

Delfonics The Delfonics were an American R&B/soul vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Delfonics were most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This ...

and female group First Choice. Both acts enjoyed a run of hits during the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially on the R&B charts. The label also had other artists such as Nat Turner's Rebellion and David Lasley. It, along with

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. I ...

, was instrumental in establishing the famed

Philadelphia soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

sound. The label was distributed by

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

from its inception in 1967 until 1974, when the label closed down shortly after Bell Records became

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

. In 2012, independent music publisher Reservoir Media Management acquired Philly Groove Records and its sister music publishing company, Nickel Shoe Music. In 2013, Reservoir released its first original record featuring music from the Philly Groove catalog, a compilation of select tracks by The Delfonics called ''Philly Groove Records Presents: This Time'' kicking off the album series Philly Groove Records Presents. In 2014, Reservoir released six more albums in the series including - - Sound Experience - ''Philly Groove Presents: Don’t Fight The Feeling'' - The Delfonics - ''Philly Groove Records Presents: The Way Things Were'' - First Choice - ''Philly Groove Records Presents: The Early Years: Vol. 1-3'' - Various Artists - ''Philly Groove Records Presents: Deeper In The Groove'' In 2015, Reservoir partnered with Drexel University to host Uncovering The Philly Groove, an educational music mixing course at the school. Students were given unfinished Philly Groove recordings to mix and master, which they premiered at an event in Drexel's URBN Center with panelists including Reservoir SVP of Creative & Business Development
Faith Newman
Sigma Sound Studios founder,

Joe Tarsia Joseph Dominick Tarsia (September 23, 1934 – November 1, 2022) was an American recording studio owner and engineer from Philadelphia who was credited on many classic pop music tracks, earning him over 150 gold and platinum record awards. He wa ...

; Philly Old School 100.3 station DJ Dyana Williams; Drexel University Associate Professor and Audio Archivis
Toby Seay
and celebrated Philadelphia musician and record producer

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli is an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and arranger, Eli ...

References

External links

Philly Groove Records history at BSN Pubs
American record labels Record labels established in 1967 Record labels disestablished in 1974 1967 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-record-label-stub