PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Music Alliance welcomed new inductees into its Music Walk of Fame on South Broad Street Wednesday afternoon.
Seven artists who’ve impacted the city’s music scene received plaques on the 400 block of South Broad Street. Among the honorees was Grammy Award-winning singer Janis Ian, who lived in Philly in the late 60s and early 70s, Schoolly D, the legendary rapper who many credit for releasing the first gangsta rap song in 1985, and Bob Geldof, the singer and activist who helped organize the 1985 benefit concert Live Aid.
Schoolly D, born Jesse Weaver Jr., said he wouldn’t change a thing from his West Philly upbringing.
“I knew I was gonna be an artist. I was gonna be a rock star. I know I was gonna write a Scooby Doo song,” he said. “I knew I was gonna represent my family name, 52nd and Parkside, and my city because that's what my mother and my father raised me to do.”
The Orlons, a '60s R&B quartet, were also honored on the Walk of Fame. The group featured Rosetta Hightower, Shirley Brickley, Marlena Davis, and their one male singer, Stephen Caldwell. Caldwell, 82, is the only surviving member of the group and was there to see his plaque revealed.
Storm Caldwell, Stephen's son, was proud to see his dad recognized.
“I'm most proud that my father was one of the first,” he said. “He was one of the first million-copy sellers in the city three times over, back to back to back without acknowledgement for so long, so many styles, so many groups were composed the way his group was composed.”
The last induction to the Walk of Fame was in 2023, but the non-profit said they plan to honor artists annually.
Later in the evening, the Philadelphia Music Alliance held a gala to honor the new inductees and presented a special award to Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jordan Mailata for his charity work behind the three holiday albums he’s released with the Philly Specials.