25 Top Musicians From Philadelphia For Your Wedding Playlist

Ranked #2 in the country and very high up in the ranks for the world for destination weddings, the allure of Charleston as a wedding destination continues to be stronger than ever. The combination of fine dining, rich history, beautiful beaches, as well as plantations and gardens make it irresistible to recently engaged couples all over the country, including those couples living in and around the greater Philaldelphia area. As one of the top Charleston Wedding DJs, I can tell you from experience that destination brides and grooms bring a piece of their city with them when they come to Charleston. That "piece" of their city or town is generally related to the music of their area. I've seen lots of couples place artists and bands from their geographical location into their playlist. Today starts another blog series that you are not going to want to miss, especially if you are a destination wedding couple coming to Charleston to get married from some of the major metropolitan areas across America. Today, we begin with the greater Philadelphia area. There isn't a wedding season that goes by that I don't see web inquiries from the Philadelphia area. It should be no surprise that the birthplace of American Bandstand is going to come with it a hot bed of musical talent.

If you are coming from the greater Philadelphia area to Charleston to get married, feel free to use this blog post to assist in bringing the Philadelphia flavor down south to one of the most beautiful places in America to get married. Those folks living in Cherry Hill, King Of Prussia, West Philadelphia, Camden, Chester, PA and Swarthmore, I invite you to take a close look at this blog post spotlighting some of Philadelphia's finest when it comes to music. And when you are in the hunt for a true professional wedding DJ in Charleston who is super friendly to destination wedding couples from all around American, let's talk soon.

Download This Playlist Of Philadelphia Musicians From Spotify Right NOW
Charleston Wedding DJ Mike Bills has made it so much easier for modern brides and grooms to assemble their playlist. Over the years, I've had so many couples come to me with a lot of their wedding music already picked out and placed onto a Spotify playlist. As a result, I've decided to migrate all of the playlists that you find on this blog over to Spotify to provide inspiration when putting together a playlist. Just head over to Spotify and do a search for DJ Mike Bills. 

Chubby Checker
The guy who made it cool for parents to dance to teeny bopper music? "The Twist" is Billboard's most popular single on the charts since 1958. If you aren't a fan of "The Twist", perhaps a little "Limbo Rock" might be in your future or if you'd like to keep twisting, "Let's Twist Again"

Will Smith 
 He grew up in West Philadelphia and attended Overbrook High School.  Don't think twice about adding some DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince to your playlist, even some solo Will Smith will be awesome. If you'd like to go and flashback to one of the greatest years of 90s music, you should check out this post about the greatest songs from 1991. You will love it. "Summertime" was a Number 1 song back in the summer of 1991 and also appears on this Soundtrack To A Charleston, SC Summer.

McFadden & Whitehead
  If you have some folks coming down to Charleston who like the disco and funk of Philadelphia, this is a must play. One of the biggest songs of the disco era came from Phillie. It's got a great party beat to it. Take a listen by clicking the link in the title of the artist name.  "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" was released during the height of the disco era back in 1979.  McFadden & Whitehead would score a Top 10 song on the Disco chart, and reach #1 on the R&B chart. 

Hall & Oates
 The most successful duo in music history came from Philadelphia.  An incredible mixture of rhythm and blues with a little pop from the 80s, that's what you get with Hall & Oates.  There have been many times where I've thrown in "You Make My Dreams" for the bridal party introduction. Hey it's something to think about, but folks who come to Charleston from the Phillie area generally throw in some of Hall & Oates in their playlists. "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" became one of Hall & Oates signature songs after it's release in 1981.  The song has been remixed numerous time and would reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as 

 The Hooters
 They came to MTV by way of Philadelphia in the mid 80s with party anthems like this. If you want to add some 80s flavor into your playlist, this would be huge. I can already see you and your bridal party and guests dancing to this 80s classic down here.  The Hooters were one the most popular one-hit wonders of the 80s with their 1985 song "And We Danced". The song would peak at #21 on the Hot 100.

 Amos Lee
 A little bit of soul, a little bit of folk is what you get from this very talented musician. Born in Phillie, and graduated from the University of South Carolina. Since 2004, he's worked with Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, The Dave Matthews Band, Adele, and Zac Brown just to name a few.  

Boys II Men
Beautiful acappella harmonies from these guys for sure. Back in 1992, they broke a record held by Elvis with having a number one song stay at the top of the charts for 13 straight weeks. Then in 1994, it was collaboration with Mariah Carey that produced "One Sweet Day". As a couple coming to Charleston for your destination wedding, what an incredible song to describe your stay in the Holy City. Back in 1991, they released "Motownphilly", and it would become one of the most popular songs of the year. 

Jim Croce
 Coming from the south Philadelphia area, Jim released five studio records before his untimely death at the age of 30 in 1973.  "Time In A Bottle" has been used numerous times for a speciality dance like the father/daughter or mother /son dance. "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" was another signature song for Jim Croce's relatively short career. The song was released in the spring of 1973, peaking at #2 on the Hot 100 in July 1973.

Patti Labelle
 She fronted a group in the early 60s called Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles, but by the mid 1970s she was contributing to the disco movement with songs like "Lady Marmalade".  "Lady Marmalade" would became one of the biggest hits of Patti Labelle's career and would become a popular choice for modern brides and their bouquet toss song.  

Danny & The Juniors
 Quintessential 50s track here with a taste of doo-wop from Philadelphia. I can't stop thinking about Dick Clark and American Bandstand when I hear this song. Add it into your playlist right after that Chubby Checker song up above. "At The Top" was released back in the fall of 1957, and by early 1958, the song would reach #1 on the U.S charts. 

Toni Basil
 Mickey, Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Antonia Basilotta had one of those iconic music videos on MTV in 1982 with this song. Another iconic 80s track from Philadelphia. Don't forget to throw it into your 80s section of your playlist. Released in the summer of 1982, the music video forged those iconic images from the early days of MTV.  The song would peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Soul music from Philadelphia at it's finest, epsecially during the 1970s.  "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (later covered by Simply Red) in the 80s was a memorable track from 1972. Add some into your playlist for some Philly soul during your wedding.

The Stylistics
Formed in the late 60s in Philadelphia, the Stylistics had a long history of successful hits in the 70s. When you are looking at each other as a couple, you both are "everything".   "You Are Everything" was released in 1971 off their self titled album and would peak at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

G Love & Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce were an alternative hip-hop based out of Philadelphia. You can visit their website by clicking over to 
to this link: G. Love & Special Sauce.  They were formed in 1992, and more recently they broke into the Top 15 on the AAA charts with "Peace, Love & Happiness" in 2008.

Eve
Eve is a American female rapper who got her start in the early 2000s and collaborated with Gwen Stefani with "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" in 2001. VH1 ranked her in the Top 50 Greatest Hip-Hop artists of all time.

DJ Jazzy Jeff
He's known as Jazz and is an amazing record producer, DJ, and actor who is famous for collaborating with Will Smith in the early 90s with their Number 1 song on the Hot R&B & hip-hop chart.

Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass was born in South Carolina, but he was raise in Philadelphia and was a member of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
He went on to a successful solo career and would release TP in 1980 and would chart three top 10 singles.

The Tymes
Formed in Philadelphia in 1956, the Tymes would top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 with their song "So Much In Love". In the 70s, they would release "Ms. Grace", which became popular on beach and shag playlists in Charleston in the 70s and 80s.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Joan Jett was born in Wynnewood, PA, which is just west of Philadelphia. She was in the all-female teenage rock band called The Runaway back in the 70s, and formed her band, the BlackHearts. "I Love Rock & Roll", which is a cover of  Arrows from 1975, would become her signature song in 1982 as hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bauuer
Bauuer was born in Philadelphia in 1989 and became a producer of trap and bass music. His debut song was the "Harlem Shake" and it was released in May of 2012 and would become a #1 song on the Hot 100.

The Delfonics
Formed in Philadelphia, the Delfonics were R&B vocal whose popularity spanned from the late 60s through the early 70s. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The song was eventually covered by New Kids On The Block in 1989 and would reach #8 on the Hot 100.

The Intruders
The Intruders were another soul group originated from Philadelphia who had several songs that would chart on the US R&B charts in the 60s into the 70s. "Together" was released in the spring of 1967 and  would peak at #9 on the Billboard R&B.

The Three Degrees
The Three Degrees were an an all-female vocal group from Philadelphia. Their signature song, "When Will I See You Again" was released in September of 1974 and would peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

MFSB
Mother, Father, Sister, Brother was part of the Philadelphia soul genre. TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) was a song released in the winter of 1974 and featured The Three Degrees on background vocals. The song would reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the adult contemporary chart.

Tammy Terrell
The late Tammy Terrell recorded a series of songs in the late 60s with Marvin Gaye. She would die in 1970 at the very young age of 25, but not before recording songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love".  "Your Precious Love" would peak at #2 on the Billboard R&B chart.

The Roots
And we wrap up this amazing playlist of some of the best musicians and bands from Philadelphia with the top hip-hop groups of the 80s. The Roots were formed in Philadelphia in 1987.

Ready To Speak With Mike Bills About Being Your Wedding DJ?
If you are living in the Philadelphia area and are looking at Charleston for your wedding destinationand you have enjoyed this blog post giving you a brief history of some of the big musicians from Philadelphia, let's talk. Thank you so much for making it to the end of this blog post.  Look for more of these types of blogs in the coming weeks. It is an honor to be a wedding vendor that provides an exceptional wedding DJ experience for destination wedding couples in Charleston. If you are a destination wedding couple and are in the hunt for your wedding vendors and would like to set up a consultation through Skype or Facetime, Click the link up above to contact me about your wedidng. I would love to be your DJ for your upcoming Charleston wedding. For one of my favorite couples  from the Philadelphia area, check out my blog post about "Reese & Courtney".