Remember When: “TSOP” Became the First TV Theme Song to Hit No. 1

Over the last 40 years, it has been extremely rare for an instrumental to top the Billboard Hot 100. That makes it all the harder to believe that during a five-year span in the mid-1970s, no fewer than 10 instrumentals made it all the way to No. 1. Only one of those—“TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees—had the distinction of being the first theme song of a television series to be a No. 1 pop hit.

Because of its paucity of lyrics, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” probably wouldn’t have been nearly as popular in any other era. At the very least, it would have been viewed as a novelty. We could view the popularity of “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” as a reflection of its time, but it would be just as accurate to say it helped to shape the music we listened to for much of the ‘70s. If not for a Chicago DJ-turned-TV host, the song may have never even been written.

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Written by Philadelphia Music Legends

“TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” was written by the songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. They were the co-founders of Philadelphia International Records, which became the home of several popular recording acts, such as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, The O’Jays, Patti LaBelle, Lou Rawls, and Billy Paul. Prior to founding the label, Gamble and Huff worked as songwriters and producers on ‘60s hits like The Soul Survivors’ “Expressway to Your Heart” and The Intruders’ “Cowboys to Girls.”

When Don Cornelius—the former Chicago DJ who created, produced, and hosted the popular, long-running TV show Soul Train—was looking for a new theme song for his program in 1973, he turned to Gamble and Huff. Once the duo delivered “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” it replaced The Rinkydinks’ “Hot Potato” as Soul Train’s theme song. Even though it was a TV theme song before it became a hit single, it was never known as “Soul Train,” as Cornelius expressly forbade the show’s name from being used in the song’s title. “TSOP (The Spirit of Philadelphia)’s” run as the Soul Train theme song began in 1973, but it was not released as a single until February 1974.

Bringing Two Philly Groups Together

To record the song, Gamble and Huff enlisted dozens of studio musicians who played regularly on the albums they produced for Philadelphia International. That collective of musicians was known as MFSB (which stood for Mother Father Sister Brother), and they had released a self-titled album of their own in 1973 in addition to their studio work. Philadelphia International arranger Bobby Martin put the horn and string parts together, which were then performed by Don Renaldo and His Strings and Horns. The song would first appear on MFSB’s 1973 album Love Is the Message before becoming a single.

While “TSOP (The Spirit of Philadelphia)” is considered to be an instrumental, it does have a couple of sections with vocals. The Philadelphia-based vocal trio The Three Degrees repeat the line People all over the world four times during one of the song’s chorus sections. Then during the outro, they sing Let’s get it on / It’s time to get down, with some ad-libs in the background. “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” was the only No. 1 song The Three Degrees would have on the Hot 100 and Billboard’s R&B chart, but it was one of nine Hot 100 hits for the group. Less than eight months after they and MFSB reached No. 1 with “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” in April 1974, The Three Degrees would score a No. 2 hit on their own with “When Will I See You Again.”

The Impact and Legacy of “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)”

In addition to topping the Hot 100, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B and Adult Contemporary charts, and it ranked seventh on the year-end Hot 100 for 1974. The song won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. While its presence on Soul Train may have helped “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” grow in popularity in the U.S., it also became an international phenomenon. It went to No. 1 in Canada, reached the Top 10 in West Germany and Switzerland, and the Top 20 in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium.

MFSB’s Love Is the Message peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and, like “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” was certified Gold in April 1974. The group came close to the Top 40 in 1975 with “Sexy,” which went to No. 42 on the Hot 100. It, too, was an instrumental that would reach listeners via a TV series—it was used for the “Big Deal of the Day” segment of the game show Let’s Make a Deal in 1980.

In addition to being the first TV theme song to grace the top of the Hot 100, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” can be credited with a couple of other “firsts.” The song made MFSB the first act whose name is an acronym to have a No. 1 song on the Hot 100. Though “Rock the Boat” by the Hues Corporation has been recognized by some as the first disco song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” got to the top first and could just as easily be credited with that honor.

The success of “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” was novel at the time of its release. However, it paved the way for the theme songs from S.W.A.T. (1976) and Miami Vice (1985) to rise to the top of the Hot 100 and for themes from other TV series, including The Greatest American Hero and Friends, to become massively popular hit singles. In an era where our attention is divided by a countless number of streaming options, the time of a TV theme song being a chart-topping hit may be long gone. “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” reminds us that having a major presence in both arenas was once possible.

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