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

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

, multi-instrumentalist and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating the " Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.

Career

Sigler was born on March 17, 1941, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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 subgenre 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, ...

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 A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

in 1959.

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 duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

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 chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

s, 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 Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records. In partnership with writer Phil Hurtt, Sigler wrote songs for

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

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 Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, " I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)". History Instant Funk came out of Trenton, New Jersey consisting of Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Mill ...

, 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 Robert Alan Lewis (February 17, 1933 – April 28, 2020) was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1961 hit singles "Tossin' and Turnin'" and "One Track Mind". Biography Lewis was born in Indianapolis, Indian ...

hit "

Tossin' and Turnin' "Tossin' and Turnin'" is a song written by Ritchie Adams and Malou René, and originally recorded by Bobby Lewis in the fall of 1960. The record was released on the Beltone Records, Beltone label in December 1960. It reached chart-topper, number ...

" (#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 are an American vocal group from Los Angeles, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers ...

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

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul music, soul singer, known for his 1972 Record chart, No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single ''War of the Gods (alb ...

, Lou Rawls,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

. 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 Loleatta Holloway (, ; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and " Love Sensation". In December 2016, ''Billboard'' named her the 95th-most successful dance artist of all time. Acc ...

, "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 The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

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 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

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 United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

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

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' The Blueprint'' by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

. Sigler died of a heart attack on October 6, 2017, aged 76, in Philadelphia.

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 and 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" *1970: "Where Do the Lonely Go" *1972: "Heaven Knows I've Changed" *1973: "Theme for Five Fingers of Death" *1973: "

" (#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)" (#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

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