 Bunny
Sigler, Philadelphia born Singer, Songwriter, Producer
Born in Philadelphia into the family of Henry
and Susie
May Sigler, as a child, little Walter
Sigler would walk around singing and making up lyrics and choruses
to songs.
Walter
Sigler became Bunny
Sigler when as an infant his mother discovered that he had a fully
grown front tooth. She commented that he looked just like a bunny
rabbit and the nom de plume stuck.
His formative years were spent singing songs like "O Lord My
God" and "The Lord's Prayer" at Helping Hand Rescue
Mission and at various churches. In his teens, he sang at the Roman
Emanuel Baptist Church and joined various doo wop groups like
the
Opals. Despite all of this involvement, Sigler's
real aspiration was to be a professional basketball player. But that
ambition was squealed when he had a accident and injured his leg.
Seeing that he he'd have to look at singing in a different light, Sigler
threw himself into music with a passion, recording for various local
labels and singing and playing guitar and piano in area nightclubs.
One summer after performing at Atlantic City's Ambassador Hotel, Sigler
began singing and noodling around the piano, searching for ideas. A
skill that would prove valuable in the coming years. Sigler
was brought to the attention of independent producers John
Medara and Dave
White (Len
Barry's "123") by Leon
Huff who suggested they check out Sigler's
performance at the Red Hill Inn. Impressed, they signed him to a deal
that lead to the release of Sigler's
first album, on Cameo
Parkway. The first single, "Girl Don't Make Me Wait,"
received both R&B and pop airplay. The title track (originally a
hit for Shirley
& Lee) was the second single and was making a respectable
showing on the R&B/pop charts (number 20 R&B and number 22
pop) when Cameo Parkway suddenly folded.
While waiting for his Cameo Parkway contract to lapse,
Sigler
began hanging around the hallways of Gamble & Huff Productions,
singing, strumming guitar, and practicing his newly acquired martial
arts skills with wall punches and kicks. The latter proved unsettling
to visiting clients leading Kenny
Gamble to suggest that Sigler
go into a room with Ugene
Dozier and try to write some songs. Up to that point,
Sigler
hadn't even though about becoming a songwriter. Quite an auspicious
start for a man who has hundreds of published songs.
Around 1970, Gamble & Huff Productions became Philadelphia
International Records. When Ugene
Dozier left the label, Sigler
inherited his office. Sigler's
songwriting break came when a tune he co-wrote with Phil
Hurtt, "Sunshine," was released as a follow-up single to
the
O'Jays' million-selling "Back Stabbers." Other Sigler/Hurtt
tunes included on the album were "When the World Is at
Peace" and "Who Am I." The
O'Jays' follow-up album, had Sigler's
first solo-written song, "You Got Your Hooks in Me," and the
Sigler/Gamble
tune "Don't You Call Me Brother." Sigler's
songs, productions, piano, and background vocals are sprinkled
throughout the Philadelphia International Records catalog.
Sigler
began to look for a group to develop, and through Jackie
Ellis he met
the
TNJs (T for Trenton, NJ for New Jersey), a vocal group that built
up a strong reputation around the Tri-state area. Backing
the
TNJs were a band called Instant
Funk. The nucleus of the band was bassist Raymond
Earl and the Miller
brothers, guitarist Kim
Miller and drummer Scotty
Miller. One
Sigler-produced
single released, "I Think I'm Falling in Love," was issued
by a local Newark label. In 1972, Sigler
was given the go-ahead by PIR to start cutting tracks on himself as a
singer and brought Instant
Funk and
the
TNJs into the studio. The first single was the sweet as candy
ballad "Regina." Another single, a remake of
Bobby
Lewis' "Tossin' and Turnin,'' gave Sigler
his first chart hit (number 38 R&B) since "Let the Good Times
Roll."
In 1974, PIR issued two albums by Sigler,
"That's How Long I'll Be Loving You" (a slow churchy remake
of the
O'Jays' "Love Train") and "Keep Smilin'."
1976's "My Music" had the ethereal heart-tugging ballad
"Somebody Loves You" and Sigler's
Opals
tribute, "Just Let Me Love You Tonight." Though most tracks
on Sigler's
PIR albums have backing tracks by MFSB,
a significant number (including the whole My
Music album) feature the
Instant
Funk rhythm section. The section can also be heard on hits by the
O'Jays, Archie
Bell & the Drells, Evelyn
"Champagne" King, Harold
Melvin and the Blue Notes, and others.
With the Philly soul sound so hot,
Sigler got a chance to work with a number of acts as a writer and/or
producer, including the
Whispers, Ecstacy,
Passion and Pain, and Carl
Carlton. He cut tracks for artists on Curtis
Mayfield's Curtom label, including Mayfield
himself ("Trippin' Out"), and made a duet album with Barbara
Mason. In 1976, Sigler
got Instant
Funk an album deal with Gamble
& Huff's TSOP label. The album, Get
Down on the Philly Jump, had two singles that were
popular in the disco clubs, the title track and "It Ain't Reggae
(But It Sho Is Funky)."
In 1978, Sigler,
bringing along Instant
Funk, switched to Goldmind, a label started by MFSB
guitarist Norman
Harris and distributed by Salsoul Records. With his first release
for the label, Sigler
scored his first Top Ten R&B single with "Let Me Party With
You (Party, Party, Party)." The album of the same name was a
smash in disco clubs. When Goldmind folded, all of its acts were
transferred to Salsoul. About a year after its release and thanks to a
Larry
Levan remix, "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It
Girl)" went on to be Instant
Funk's breakthrough hit (number one R&B). Both the single and
the album went gold. Just like at PIR, Sigler
and Instant
Funk worked with the acts on Salsoul
— Loleatta
Holloway, Double
Exposure, and First
Choice — as well as acts on other labels.
In the early '80s, Salsoul ceased operations. Sigler
continued to write and produce, hitting with "Somebody Loves You
Baby" (co-written with Eugene
"Lambchops" Curry), a million-seller for Patti
Labelle, and taking Shirley
Jones, formerly of PIR sister act the
Jones Girls, to number one R&B with "Do You Get Enough
Love" in August of 1986. He even releases an occasional single. Instant
Funk toured for a few years then disbanded. Instant Funk is now
back together.
Sigler
still works with Raymond
Earl (Patti
Labelle's LP, off-Broadway play 20th Century R&B) and both
collaborated on some of the final tracks of
Phyllis
Hyman, PIR veterans Lou
Rawls, Billy
Paul, recent PIR signee Stephanie
Mills, and the band LEX.
— Ed Hogan
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