Bunny Sigler

Career

Bunny Sigler was born in Philadelphia on March 17, 1941, and got his nickname from his family when he was very young. He started out singing in church and later joined several local doo-wop groups, one of which was the Opals, where he performed alongside his brother James Sigler, Ritchie Rome, and Jack Faith. By the tail end of the 1950s, he was playing piano and singing at local spots, and he made his first recording in 1959 for the V-Tone Records label.

Leon Huff later pointed him toward producers John Medora and Dave White at Cameo-Parkway Records. Sigler’s second single on the Parkway label was a medley of two Shirley and Lee songs, “Let the Good Times Roll & Feel So Good,” which climbed both the national pop and R&B charts in 1967, landing at number 20 on the R&B chart and number 22 on the pop chart. Later that same year, he followed it up with another medley, this time of the doo-wop tunes “Lovey Dovey” and “You’re So Fine,” which also made the R&B chart.

After Cameo-Parkway went under around 1970, Sigler started working as a songwriter with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records. He teamed up with writer Phil Hurtt to pen songs for the O’Jays, including “Sunshine” and “When the World Is at Peace.” He also wrote on his own and with Gamble, and his songs were cut by many of the Philadelphia International artists. Sigler discovered the group Instant Funk and got back into recording as a singer himself.

In 1973, after a six-year gap, he scored his first chart hit with a remake of Bobby Lewis’s “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” which reached number 38 on the R&B chart and number 97 on the pop chart. He had a few more minor R&B hits on Philadelphia International in the mid-1970s, including his own versions of “Love Train” and “Keep Smilin’.” During that same period, he put out several albums backed by the MFSB musicians and Instant Funk.

Did You Know?

• Sigler sang the 23rd Psalm at the ceremony awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen on March 29, 2007, at the United States Capitol.
• He co-wrote "The Ruler's Back," the opening song on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint.
• His biggest R&B hit was "Let Me Party With You (Party, Party, Party)," which reached number 8 in early 1978.
• Sigler discovered the group Instant Funk and worked with them on their breakthrough hit "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)."
• He recorded a duo album with Barbara Mason titled Locked in This Position in 1977.