TSOP 2000 (partially lost Dr. Freeze cover of MFSB song; 1999)
Cover of the MFSB version of the song.
Status: Partially Lost
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) is a song recorded by MFSB featuring vocals from the all-female group The Three Degrees that was used for the music variety program Soul Train. The song was released as a single on February 6th, 1974, and became that first theme song from a television show and the first disco song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was titled TSOP as Soul Train's creator Don Cornelius didn't want any references to the show in the song, when the song began performing well on the Hot 100, he regretted not letting MSFB use any references to the show[1]. Although the version used on the show references the show's title in the chorus and is not heard on the single.
The song became synonymous with the show and several renditions of the song by other artists like George Duke would be used as the show's theme, including a rendition by Dr Freeze and Samson entitle "TSOP 2000). This version of the song would be used from 1999 until the show's end in 2006. While the original and other versions of the song have since been released and are readily available[2][3], the Dr Freeze and Samson version isn't. Fans have been wanting to hear the full version of the song since the show ended its run[4]. Episodes using this version of the song are available online and a 67-second shorten version of the song has since surfaced. Whether the song will ever see a release is unknown.