Like many, I’ve spent the last 11+ months running and going on long walks as much as possible to get out of the house, clear my head, and get some fresh air.

Trying to social distance to the fullest, I stroll & sprint on wide Broad Street much more than narrower Philadelphia streets/sidewalks and the Schuylkill Trail (even though I miss that Philly stretch/view so dearly).

While on Broad Street, I’m always passing by the Philadelphia Music Alliance’s Walk of Fame in Center City. Of course, I’ve always known the big immortalized names here — Coltrane, Nina Simone, Hall & Oats, etc. But what about all the others?

The last few months, I spent time researching and listening to every single artist that’s been honored on Broad Street in Philly. And the range of music is so encompassing. From The Sound of Philadelphia to … Rock & Roll … Classical and Opera … Hip-Hop … Country … Hard Rock … Gospel … Jazz … and more.

So I made a Spotify playlist that I’m sharing here … It features almost all of the 147 inductees to the Philly Walk of Fame. (Understandably, no Radio DJ’s, etc.) I tried to keep the songs to 5 mins or shorter as much as possible (although more difficult for classical, opera & jazz). And I tried to include about five songs per artist at a minimum. So far, this playlist totals more than 41 hours of music and counting …

The great diversity in genres and sounds is to be expected from this amazing city. What I’ve found most powerful is walking along Broad Street and feeling a connection to each of these artists as I listen to their tunes on the same city street that each of these musical artists has walked on in their lives. I wonder what they would think of Philly today, as we take it one day at a time, trying to get through a global pandemic.

So when you go for a walk in Philadelphia or just want to feel some Philly history from afar, hopefully you’ll find this music to be an inspiring time warp of Philadelphians leaving their mark through reverberation.

Enjoy the Philly music, friends. Be safe & healthy & kind out there. Much Love & Hugs & Peace & Cheers!

As Philly’s Jill Scott sings, “Let’s take a long walk …”

PHILADELPHIA WALK OF FAME – BROAD STREET PLAYLIST