Bunny Sigler

It would be difficult to reflect on the musical era of the 60’s and 70’s without a mention of the name Walter “Bunny” Sigler Instant Funk’s “I Got My Mind Made Up”, Patti Labelle’s “Somebody Loves You Baby”, The Whispers’ “Bingo”, Jackie Moore’s “Sweet Charlie Babe” and The O’Jays “Sunshine” all came from the pen of Bunny Sigler. An integral part of the Philadelphia Sound and Leon Huff & Kenny Gamble’s Philadelphia International Records, “Mr. Emotion”, as he was called, positioned himself as one of the day’s most significant musical players working with artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Carl Carlton, Phyllis Hyman, Lou Rawls, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and Chaka Khan. Although during his career he’s amassed more than 35 million units as a producer, artist and songwriter in mainstream music, Bunny Sigler’s passion has always been gospel music. That love set the stage for the release of his first full-length inspirational release on Bun-Z Records, LLC, The Lord’s Prayer.

A native of Philadelphia, PA, Sigler has always had a love for music, even as a youth. “Bunny”, a name thrust upon him when his mother discovered a full grown front tooth at birth, developed a passion for music at a very young age. It was in the hallowed halls of Roman Emanuel Baptist Church where he honed his gift. Songs such as “How Great Thou Art” and “I’m Working on a Building” were constants for him.

Although his talent for music was obvious, his first love was basketball. When his dream to become a professional basketball player was dashed due to a knee injury, he turned back to music. During Sigler’s teen years, he wound up singing for various doo wop groups including The Opals whose members included Sigler’s two brothers and a close friend. They performed at various venues throughout the city in hopes of stardom. He maximized his time at the mic and was soon on the fast track as a solo act. He became known for his passionate performances and was dubbed “Mr. Emotion”. Sigler was known for his melodic vocals and his skilled musicianship, playing a range of instruments, such as the piano, guitar, organ, and trombone.

In 1959, Sigler recorded his first single on Hilo Records entitled, “Promise Me”. While continuing to perform around the city, he ultimately caught the eye of local DJ, Cannonball. Impressed with what he saw, Cannonball introduced him to the owner of Craig record label, where he later received a record deal. While with Craig, he released “Come On Home”, which caught the attention of industry heavyweights. That success led to Sigler writing “Picture Us” for two popular producers, John Madara and David White.

From there he gained national attention with blue-eyed soul man, Len Barry, producing hits like “123” and “You Baby”. It wasn’t until joining the Parkway label that Sigler would make his mark on the charts. While with Parkway, he released his debut entitled “Let the Good Times Roll”. The single, “Girl Don’t Make Me Wait,” received both pop and R&B airplay. During the 70’s, Sigler joined the Philadelphia International Recording (PIR) owned by legends Leon Huff & Kenny Gamble. While with PIR, Sigler co-wrote “Sunshine” which was chosen as a single on the O’Jays best-selling album Back Stabbers. He then penned “You Got Your Hooks in Me” which appeared on the O’Jays following album.

Still basking in the glow of the success of the O’Jays’ hits, Sigler decided to tap into a new genre of music that was taking over the 70’s called disco. Sigler put together a group called Instant Funk and together, they released two projects on PIR label, That’s How Long I’ll be Loving You and Keep Smilin’. It wasn’t until Sigler’s departure from PIR when he, along with Instant Funk, would release “I Got My Mind Made Up” on the Salsoul label. The track went gold and topped the R&B charts. They followed with more disco-oriented tracks such as “The Funk Is On” and “By the Way You Dance”.

Although mainstream music has been good to Sigler and made him a legend in urban music, he always felt the tug of gospel music, having been a Christian since the age of 16. Now, he has now decided to go back to his roots, where it all began. Even during his secular career, he continued to sing and write gospel songs including inspirational tracks for Stephanie Mills and the song, “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But No One Wants To Die”. But it wasn’t until Jeff Majors caught him singing at a funeral that his recording career in the inspirational genre began. Majors was so moved by Sigler’s performance that he tapped him to sing “Psalm 99” on Sacred 6. During the same time, gospel songs began pouring out of Bunny, which became the tracks for The Lord’s Prayer.

Bunny Sigler’s entrance into the gospel music industry is long over due, and yet perfectly timed. Songs like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, featuring Jeff Majors, “Near The Cross” and the title tune are part of the history of the psalmist. But he expounds on the tra