Bunny Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) – Theme For Five Fingers Of Death (1973)
One of the unsung architects of the Philly Sound, Sigler co-wrote this funk masterpiece with Richie Rome and the great T. Life, who can be heard briefly on harmonica.
Walter “Bunny” Sigler was a multi-talented singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who worked extensively with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records.
Sigler was born and raised in Philadelphia. His family nicknamed him “Bunny” when he was a child. He sang in doo-wop groups including The Opals, alongside future songwriters Richie Rome and Jack Faith. During the sixties he had several R&B hits released on the Philadelphia-based Cameo-Parkway label.
When Cameo-Parkway shut down near the end of the decade, Sigler began working as a songwriter for Gamble and Huff with his writing partner Phil Hurtt. He wrote songs for the O’Jays and many other Philadelphia International Records (PIR) artists and along the way also became a producer. He discovered the group Instant Funk, began recording again as a singer, and had more hits of his own released on PIR.
Some of the other artists Sigler wrote for or produced included the Whispers, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, Carl Carlton, Jackie Moore, Billy Paul, Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, Stephanie Mills, and Curtis Mayfield.
Together with his longtime friend Richie Rome and the great T. Life (another unsung PIR songwriter and producer), who can be heard briefly on harmonica, Sigler co-wrote the funk masterpiece “Theme For ‘Five Fingers Of Death’” (1973).
Rome arranged and co-produced the track with Life, which was released on May 11, 1973 to little fanfare. It was the theme song to the film of the same name, a Shaw Brothers-produced Kung Fu classic. Despite this, the single did not chart and ended up obscure enough to be included on the 2007 compilation Conquer The World: The Lost Soul Of Philadelphia International Records.
“(Sigler) may have been one of the greatest creators of our time,” said pioneer disco DJ and remixer John Luongo in 2020. “His work and magic touch was felt on more records than you could ever imagine and his contributions to the sound of Philly without compare!”
#funk #soul #PIR #ShawBrothers #TLife #RichieRome #BunnySigler
Bunny's version of “Let The Good Times Roll” is a favorite of mine. Thanks for the biography and tribute.