Teddy Pendergrass

singer

Personal Information

Born Theodore Pendergrass on March 26, 1950, in Philadelphia, PA; married Karen Still, in June of 1987; children: Theodore Jr., Tamon, Tisha Lazette, and LaDonna.

Career

R&B vocalist. Joined Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes as drummer, 1968; lead vocalist for the group, 1970-77, featured on major Blue Notes recordings such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now"; solo performer, 1977-; suffered permanent paralysis in auto crash, 1982; returned to recording and performing, mid-1980s; released You & I, 1997; released This Christmas, I'd Rather Have Love, 1998; wrote autobiography with Patricia Romanowski, Truly Blessed, 1998; active in disabled-welfare organizations.

Life's Work

The consummate African American sex symbol of the 1970s music scene, Teddy Pendergrass gained unparalleled adulation from female fans for his suggestive crooning and his women-only concerts at which teddy bears were passed out to audience members. Prior to his solo career, he had already been in the spotlight for many years as the lead vocalist of one of the most lyrical and distinctive of the Philadelphia soul groups, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. In 1982, Pendergrass was in an automobile accident that left him a paraplegic. However, he was able to successfully resume his career.

Pendergrass was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1950. His mother named him Theodore, which means "gift from God," because she had suffered six previous miscarriages. His father Jesse, who had left the family and moved in with another woman, was murdered when Pendergrass was 12. As a young man, Pendergrass was ordained as a minister and he followed a religious lifestyle. His first exposure to secular music occurred in his early teens when his mother, who worked at a Philadelphia supper club, let him play some of the club's musical instruments. Pendergrass soon taught himself to play several instruments and he joined several local musical groups in Philadelphia.

Blue Notes Drummer and Vocalist

In 1969, Pendergrass received his first big break when he signed on as the drummer for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, a Philadelphia soul group. When the Blue Notes' lead vocalist left the group the following year, Pendergrass replaced him and brought a new level of fame to the group. The Philadelphia soul sound pioneered by producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff during the 1970s combined a down-to-earth intensity with a more lyrical, mellow side. Pendergrass's baritone voice was vigorous, yet smooth, and was well-suited to the Philadelphia soul sound. Blue Notes hits such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and "The Love I Lost" made Pendergrass a singing sensation and helped to launch his solo career.

Pendergrass released his debut solo album, Teddy Pendergrass, in 1977. Two singles from the album, "I Don't Love You Any More" and the ballad "The Whole Town's Laughing at Me," were modest hits. However, it was only when Pendergrass began to be marketed as a sex symbol that his career really took off. When he performed in concert, Pendergrass would launch into spectacular vocal outbursts that delighted throngs of adoring female fans. Many of these fans threw underwear on stage and reveled in his tank-top attire and seductive stage routines. Concerts were often billed as "Ladies Only" affairs and, in one notorious incident, one woman shot another after a struggle over Pendergrass's sweat-soaked head scarf.

Permanently Paralyzed by Crash

For a time, Pendergrass was arguably the most popular male star in R&B music. However, his life would be changed forever on the night of March 18, 1982, when the brakes on his Rolls-Royce failed, causing the car to hit a metal guardrail, cross into oncoming traffic, and ram into a tree. Pendergrass suffered a broken neck, a crushed spinal cord, and damage to vital nerves. He was unconscious for eight days and, when he regained consciousness, he realized that he was paralyzed below the waist and would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Following his accident, Pendergrass contemplated suicide. In his 1998 autobiography, Truly Blessed, he remarked that he had once asked his wife to give him an overdose of sleeping pills. Pendergrass suffered severe depression and insomnia for years after the accident, but his road to recovery began when he gingerly tried out his voice by singing along with a coffee commercial on television. Although he had been warned that he might never sing again, Pendergrass found that his voice was still in working condition. "Nothing ever sounded as sweet to my ears as my version of that silly damn jingle," he wrote in Truly Blessed. Pendergrass sought help from a quadriplegic therapist, who helped him exorcize thoughts of suicide through the staging of a mock funeral.

In addition to his disability, Pendergrass had to defend himself against rumors that his accident had been caused by excessive alcohol and drug use. Although Philadelphia police cited Pendergrass for reckless driving, they found no evidence that alcohol or drugs had contributed to the crash. Another rumor circulated that Pendergrass's passenger at the time of the accident, Tenika Watson, was actually a transsexual nightclub entertainer. Pendergrass denied any involvement with Watson, stating that he had simply offered a late-night ride to a woman with whom he had been casually acquainted.

Returned to Recording and Performing

His voice weakened by the crash but imbued with new emotional depth, Pendergrass slowly returned to work. In 1984, he released his first album since the accident. The album, Love Language, thrilled and inspired his many fans, and was certified platinum for sales of one million copies. Pendergrass made a live appearance at the Live Aid charity concert in 1985 and his 1988 album, Joy, put him back atop the R&B charts. Ron Wynn, in his review of Joy for the All-Music Guide, observed that Pendergrass "sang in a slower, somber yet appealing way quite different from the swaggering, openly sexual, macho posturing of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a weary but not beaten Pendergrass, whose manner and delivery underscored the resilient theme in Joy's lyrics."

With the constant support of his wife and his mother, Pendergrass has far exceeded the expectations of his doctors, who had predicted that Pendergrass would live only ten years after the accident. He kept up a moderate schedule of recording and touring, releasing the albums Truly Blessed (1991), You & I (1997), and This Christmas, I'd Rather Have Love (1998), and touring with the traveling company of the gospel musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God in 1996. He founded the Pendergrass Institute for Music and Performing Arts to assist aspiring performers, and also supported causes that championed the rights of the disabled.

Awards

Received numerous civic awards; Image Award, NAACP, 1973 and 1980.

Works

Selected discography

Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Philadelphia International, 1978.
Teddy, Philadelphia International, 1979.
T. P., Philadelphia International, 1980.
Live Coast to Coast, Philadelphia International, 1980.
It's Time for Teddy, Philadelphia International, 1981.
Teddy Pendergrass, Philadelphia International, 1982.
This One's for You, Philadelphia International, 1982.
Heaven Only Knows, Philadelphia International, 1983.
Greatest Hits, Philadelphia International, 1984.
Love Language, Asylum, 1984.
Workin' It Back, Asylum, 1985.
Joy, Asylum, 1988.
Truly Blessed, Elektra, 1991.
You & I, Elektra, 1997.
This Christmas, I'd Rather Have Love, Elektra, 1998.

Teddy Pendergrass

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For The Record...

Full name, Theodore Pendergrass; born 1950 in Philadelphia, Pa.; married Karen Still (a dancer), June 1987; children: Theodore, Jr., Tamon (son), Tisha Lazette, LaDonna.

Played drums in James Brown’s band for a short time; joined Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes as drummer, 1968, lead singer, 1970-77, featured singer on hits, including “The Love I Lost,” “I Miss You,” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”; solo performer, 1977—. Executive director of the Coalition on Spinal Cord Injury.

Addresses: Office—c/o 57 Crosley Brown Rd., Gladwyn, PA 19035.

Singer

Teddy Pendergrass’s fame and fortune were built on his provocative stage presence and the intimate rapport he established with his audiences. Female fans frequently swooned or tossed their undergarments onstage in response to his earthy baritone and forthright sexuality; one fan even went so far as to shoot another in a struggle for a scarf the singer had used to wipe his face. Pendergrass was at the height of his popularity when a car accident left him a quadriplegic—unable to feed or dress himself, let alone execute his charismatic stage moves. He could still sing, however, and within two years of the accident he had released his comeback album. His fans remained loyal, and many critics declared that Pendergrass’s tragedy had brought new depth to his music.

Pendergrass began his career in 1968, not as a singer, but as the drummer for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Within two years he had ascended to lead vocalist, and his personal sound came to define the group. In their Encyclopedia of Rock, Dave Hardy and Phil Laing described Pendergrass’s singing on Blue Notes hits such as "The Love I Lost," "I Miss You," and "If You Don’t Know Me by Now," as "tough, powerful… mixing the styles of gospel and blues shouters whose intense delivery blended bravado and impassioned pleading in equal measure." He combined an "earthy, sexual insistence on the more aggressively paced pieces with mellow, moodier vocal work on ballads, which he’d gradually infuse with wilder, improvised and often quite histrionic outbursts."

In 1977, Pendergrass left the Blue Notes to pursue a solo career. Women were even more enthusiastic about seeing him alone on stage than they had been about watching him front the Blue Notes. They flocked to special "For Women Only" midnight shows to hear Pendergrass sing "Close the Door," "Turn Off the Lights," and other hits. As a solo performer, Pendergrass expanded his range to attract new listeners: a Stereo Review writer noted that while he still "belted out his funky amorous entreaties with a raw virility that set many female libidos a-quiver," he had also learned to "set aside his club and loincloth to sing tenderly," thereby "reaching both those who like sweetness and those who prefer swagger." Nearly all his albums went platinum, and Pendergrass was acknowledged as the premier black sex symbol of the late 1970s.

Things changed dramatically on March 18, 1982. While Pendergrass was driving his Rolls-Royce through Philadelphia’s Germantown section, the vehicle jumped the center median and crashed into a tree. Pendergrass told Life: "[After] the initial bang I opened my eyes, and I was still there. For a while I was conscious. I know I had broken my neck. It was obvious; I tried to make a move

and I couldn’t." Pendergrass was correct in thinking that his neck was broken; his spinal cord was also crushed, and bone fragments had severed some vital nerves. Movement was limited to his head, shoulders, and biceps. When the full extent of the damage became apparent and doctors told him that his paralysis would probably be permanent, Pendergrass cried until his "eyes looked like golf balls," he told Life. He was further informed that injuries such as his usually affect the breathing muscles and, consequently, the ability to sing. Several days after the accident, Pendergrass cautiously tested his voice by singing along with a coffee commercial on television. "I could sing," he remembered, "and I knew that anything else I had to do, I could do."

Pendergrass’s first task was to ride out the ugly rumors that surrounded his mishap. He had been driving on a suspended license, and stories quickly spread that he was drunk or drugged when it occurred. After investigating the incident, Philadelphia police announced that they found no evidence of substance abuse in connection with it, although they speculated that reckless driving and excessive speed were involved. Next, it was revealed that Pendergrass’s passenger, Tenika Watson, who was not seriously injured in the crash, was a transsexual entertainer. The former John F. Watson admitted to some thirty-seven arrests for prostitution and related offenses over a ten-year period. This news was potentially very damaging to Pendergrass’s image as the ultimate macho man, but his fans quickly accepted his statement that he had merely offered a ride to a casual acquaintance and had no knowledge of Watson’s occupation or history.

Once released from the hospital, Pendergrass faced the difficult period of adjustment to his new limitations. From the outset, he was determined that his handicap would not stop his career. "I thrive on whatever kind of challenge I have to face" he told Charles L. Sanders in Ebony. "My philosophy has always been ‘Bring me a brick wall, and if I can’t jump over it I’ll run right through it." After months of special therapy, including exercising with a heavy weight on his stomach in order to build up his weakened diaphragm, Pendergrass recorded Love Language. It became his sixth platinum album, affirming both his musical abilities and his fans’ loyalty. Another milestone in the singer’s recovery came at the 1985 Live Aid concert, when he made his first stage appearance since the accident, singing "Reach Out and Touch" with Ashford and Simpson. "I don’t know how to fully describe those few moments onstage," he confessed in People. "Before I went on, I was scared, afraid of the unknown. Afterward I felt like I was larger than anybody there. It reaffirmed one very important fact to me, that it wasn’t important that I shook my booty right or that I had legs that turned a certain way. What the audience most appreciated was what I was saying in the song."

"I ain’t going to lie, this thing’s a bitch," Pendergrass said of his paralysis. "You go through living hell, through all kinds of anxieties, and you suffer enormous apprehensions about everything. At first you don’t know how people will accept you, and you don’t want to be seen. You don’t want to do anything. Given thoughts like that, you don’t want to live. But … you have an option. You can give it up and call it quits, or you can go on. I’ve decided to go on."

Selected discography

Solo LPs
Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Philadelphia International, 1978.
Teddy, Philadelphia International, 1979.
T.P., Philadelphia International, 1980.
Live Coast to Coast, Philadelphia International, 1980.
It’s Time for Teddy, Philadelphia International, 1981.
Teddy Pendergrass, Philadelphia International, 1982.
This One’s For You, Philadelphia International, 1982.

Heaven Only Knows, Philadelphia International, 1983.
Greatest Hits, Philadephia International, 1984.
Love Language, Asylum, 1984.
Workin’ It Back, Asylum, 1985.
Joy, Asylum, 1988.

Sources
Books
Hardy, Phil and Dave Laing, Encyclopedia of Rock, Macdonald, 1987.

Periodicals
Ebony, September 1984; February 1989.
Jet, December 18, 1980; April 5, 1982; April 19, 1982; May 17, 1982; May 31, 1982; July 6, 1987; July 20, 1987.
Life, June 1984.
People, January 13, 1986; June 27, 1988.
Stereo Review, December 1982; March 1984; June 1986.

AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Teddy Pendergrass

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Genres: Rhythm & Blues

Biography

Teddy Pendergrass started singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, becoming an ordained minister at ten years old. While attending public school, he sang in the citywide McIntyre Elementary School Choir and in the All-City Stetson Junior High School Choir. A self-taught drummer, Pendergrass had a teen pop vocal group when he was 15. By his late teens, Pendergrass was a drummer for local vocal group the Cadillacs.

In the late '60s, the Cadillacs merged with another more established group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. In 1970, when the Blue Notes broke up, Melvin, now aware of Pendergrass' vocal prowess, asked him to take the lead singer spot. It's no secret that Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff wanted Marvin Junior of the Dells for their Philadelphia International Records roster. Since the Dells were signed to Chess, they were unavailable. When the gruff'n'ready vocals of Pendergrass came their way, they eagerly signed the group. Beginning with "I Miss You," a steady stream of hit singles flowed from the collaboration of Pendergrass and Gamble & Huff: "If You Don't Know Me by Now," "The Love I Lost," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody" (number one R&B for two weeks in 1976), and two gold albums, To Be True and Wake Up Everybody.

Unfortunately, the more success the group had, the more friction developed between Melvin and Pendergrass. Despite the revised billing of the group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass, Pendergrass felt that he wasn't getting enough recognition. Around 1976, Pendergrass left Melvin's Blue Notes and formed his own Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendergrass. Briefly, there was some confusion as to which Blue Notes were which. The resolution came when Pendergrass disbanded his Blue Notes in favor of a solo career and Melvin's group signed a recording contract with Source Records, distributed through ABC Records, scoring a hit with "I Want to Be Your Lover."

Pendergrass signed a new contract with Philadelphia International Records in late 1976/early 1977. He burst back on the scene with Teddy Pendergrass, a platinum solo debut that included the top-notch singles "I Don't Love You Anymore," "You Can't Hide from Yourself," and "The More I Get the More I Want." Around this time, Pendergrass began to institute his infamous "Ladies Only" concerts. His next three albums went gold or platinum: Life Is a Song Worth Singing (1978), Teddy (1979), and Teddy Live (Coast to Coast). The hit single "Close the Door" was used in the film Soup for One, where Pendergrass had a small role.

The singer received several Grammy nominations during 1977 and 1978, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. He was also in consideration for the lead in the movie biopic The Otis Redding Story. The '70s ended, but Pendergrass kept racking up the hits. TP, his fifth solo album, went platinum in the summer of 1980 off the singles "Turn Off the Lights," "Come Go with Me," "Shout and Scream," "It's You I Love," and "Can't We Try." It's Time for Love gave Pendergrass another gold album in summer 1981, which included the hit singles "Love TKO" and "I Can't Live Without Your Love."

A 1982 car accident left Pendergrass paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound. After almost a year of physical therapy and counseling, Pendergrass returned to the recording scene, signing a contract with Elektra/Asylum in 1983. His ninth solo album and Elektra/Asylum debut, Love Language went gold the spring of 1984. Philadelphia International issued two albums of unreleased tracks, This One's for You (1982) and Heaven Only Knows (1983). Other albums included Workin' It Back (1985), Joy (1988, whose title track went to number one R&B for two weeks), and Little More Magic (1993). The latter half of the '90s found Pendergrass recording for the Surefire/Wind Up label. Truly Blessed, the name of an 1991 Elektra album, is also the title of the autobiography Pendergrass co-authored with Patricia Romanowski. Apart from an appearance at a 2007 ceremony held in his honor, Pendergrass spent his later years away from the spotlight. He had difficulty recovering from colon cancer surgery and passed away on January 13, 2010. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Teddy Pendergrass

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Teddy Pendergrass
Pendergrass in 1977
Background information
Birth name	Theodore DeReese Pendergrass
Born	March 26, 1950(1950-03-26) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	January 13, 2010(2010-01-13) (aged 59) Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, gospel, jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, composer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, drums
Years active	1970–2006
Labels	Philadelphia International Asylum Elektra Surefire/Wind Up
Associated acts	Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Website	Official website

Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass (March 26, 1950^[1] – January 13, 2010^[2]) was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade. In 1982, he was severely injured in an auto accident in Philadelphia, resulting in his being paralyzed from the waist down. After his injury, the affable entertainer founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, a foundation that helps those with spinal cord injuries. Pendergrass commemorated 25 years of living after his spinal cord injury with star filled event, Teddy 25 - A Celebration of Life at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center. His last performance was on a PBS special at Atlantic City's Borgata Casino in November 2008.

Contents

1 Early life
2 Early career
- 2.1 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: 1972-1977
3 Solo career
4 Personal life
5 Death
6 Discography
7 Grammy Awards Nominations
8 Other Awards
9 In popular culture
10 References
11 External links

Early life

Pendergrass was born Theodore DeReese Pendergrass at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Jesse Pendergrass and Ida Geraldine Epps. When Pendergrass was still very young, his father left the family; Jesse Pendergrass was murdered when Teddy was 12. Pendergrass grew up in a Philadelphia and sang often at church. He dreamed of being a pastor and got his wish when, at 10, he was ordained a minister (according to author Robert Ewell Greene). He also took up drums during this time and was a junior deacon of his church. Pendergrass attended Thomas Edison High School for Boys in North Philadelphia (now closed). He sang with the Edison Mastersingers. He dropped out^[3] in the eleventh grade to enter the music business, recording his first song "Angel With Muddy Feet." The recording, however, was not a commercial success.

Pendergrass played drums for several local Philadelphia bands, eventually becoming the drummer of the The Cadillacs. In 1970, the singer was spotted by the Blue Notes' founder, Harold Melvin (1939–1997), who convinced Pendergrass to play drums in the group. However, during a performance, Pendergrass began singing along, and Melvin, impressed by Pendergass's vocals, made him the lead singer. Before Pendergrass joined the group, the Blue Notes had struggled to find success. That all changed when they landed a recording deal with Philadelphia International Records in 1971, thus beginning Pendergrass's successful collaboration with label founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Early career

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: 1972-1977

In 1972, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes released their first single, a slow, solemn ballad titled "I Miss You". The song was originally written for The Dells but the group passed on the song and noting how Pendergrass sounded like Dells lead singer Marvin Junior, Kenny Gamble decided to build the song with Pendergrass, then only 21 at the time of the recording of the song, singing much of the song in a raspy baritone wail that became his trademark. The song also featured Bluenotes member Lloyd Parks singing falsetto in the background and spotlighted Harold Melvin adding in a rap near the end of the song as Pendergrass kept singing, feigning tears. The song, one of Gamble and Huff's most creative productions, became a major rhythm and blues hit and put the Blue Notes on the map.

The group's follow-up single, "If You Don't Know Me by Now", brought the group to the mainstream with the song reaching the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 while also reaching number-one on the soul singles chart. Like "I Miss You" before it, the song was originally intended for a different artist, fellow Philadelphian native Patti LaBelle and her group Labelle but the group couldn't record it due to scheduling conflicts. Pendergrass and LaBelle developed a close friendship that would last until Pendergrass' death.

The group rode to fame with several more releases over the years including "The Love I Lost", a song which predated the upcoming disco music scene; the ballad "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon", and socially conscious singles "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck", the latter song about the Watergate scandal. One of the group's important singles was their original version of the Philly soul classic, "Don't Leave Me This Way", which turned into a disco smash when Motown artist Thelma Houston released her version in 1976. By 1975, Pendergrass and Harold Melvin were at odds, mainly over monetary issues and personality conflicts. Despite the fact that Pendergrass sung all of the group's songs, Melvin was controlling the group's finances. Pendergrass discovered this while attending a party with Melvin. At one point, Pendergrass wanted the group to be renamed "Teddy Pendergrass and the Blue Notes" because fans kept mistaking him as Melvin. Pendergrass left the group in 1977 and the Blue Notes struggled with his replacements. They eventually left Philadelphia International and by the early 1980s had disbanded for good.

Solo career

Early solo success

In 1977, Pendergrass released his self-titled album, which went platinum on the strength of the disco hit, "I Don't Love You Anymore". Its follow-up single, "The Whole Town's Laughing At Me", became a top 20 R&B hit. It was quickly followed by Life Is a Song Worth Singing, in 1978. That album was even more successful with its singles including "Only You" and "Close the Door". The disco single, "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose" was popular in dance clubs. 1979 brought two successes, Teddy and the live release, Live Coast to Coast. Hits off Teddy included "Come and Go With Me" and "Turn Off the Lights". His 1980 album, TP, included his signature song, "Love TKO" and the Ashford & Simpson composition, "Is It Still Good to You". Between 1977 and 1981, Pendergrass landed five consecutive platinum albums, which was a then-record setting number for a rhythm and blues artist.

Pendergrass' popularity became massive at the end of 1977. With sold-out audiences packing his shows, Pendergrass' manager soon noticed that a huge number of his audience consisted of women of all races. They made up a plan for Pendergrass' next tour to have it with just female audiences only, starting a trend that continues today called "women's only concerts". With five platinum albums and two gold albums, Pendergrass was on his way to be what the media was calling him, "the black Elvis", not only in terms of his crossover popularity but also due to him buying a mansion akin to Elvis' Graceland, located just outside of his hometown of Philadelphia. By early 1982, Pendergrass was the leading R&B male artist of his day usurping competition including closest rivals Marvin Gaye and Barry White. In 1980, the Isley Brothers released "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)" to compete with Pendergrass' "Turn Off the Lights", which sensed Pendergrass' influence on the quiet storm format of black music.

Accident

On March 18, 1982, in the East Falls section of Philadelphia on Lincoln Drive near Rittenhouse Street, Pendergrass was involved in an automobile accident. The brakes failed on his 1981 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, causing the car to hit a guard rail, cross into the opposite traffic lane, and hit two trees. Pendergrass and his passenger, Tenika Watson, a nightclub performer with whom Pendergrass was acquainted, were trapped in the wreckage for 45 minutes. While Watson walked away from the accident with minor injuries, Pendergrass suffered a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.^[4]^[5]

Later solo career

Pendergrass got well-wishes from thousands of his fans during his recovery. In August 1982, his label released This One's for You, which failed to chart successfully, as did 1983's Heaven Only Knows. Both albums included material Pendergrass had recorded prior to his accident. The albums completed Pendergrass' contract with Philadelphia International, in which by that time Pendergrass decided to return to the studio to work on new music and struggled to find a recording deal. Eventually signing a deal and completing physical therapy, Pendergrass released Love Language in 1984. The album included the pop ballad "Hold Me", featuring a then unknown Whitney Houston.

On July 13, 1985, Pendergrass made an emotional return to the stage at the historic Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in front of a live audience of over 99,000 and 2 billion television viewers.^[6] It was the 35-year-old's first live performance following his 1982 accident. Pendergrass tearfully thanked the audience for keeping him in their well-wishes and then performed the Ashford & Simpson classic, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". In 1988, Pendergrass scored his first R&B number-one hit in nearly a decade when the new jack swing-styled "Joy", off his album of the same name, was released. A video of the song was in heavy rotation on BET. It was also his final Hot 100 charted single, peaking at number 77. Also, Pendergrass' voice was heard on the jingles of a back then local Philadelphia radio station, WSNI-FM.

Pendergrass kept recording through the 1990s. One of the singer's final hits was the hip-hop leaning "Believe in Love", released in 1994. In 1996, he starred alongside Stephanie Mills in the touring production of the gospel musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.^[7] In 1998, Pendergrass released his autobiography entitled, Truly Blessed.^[8]

Pendergrass did a concert at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, California on February 14, 2002 entitled "The Power of Love". The concert became the album From Teddy, With Love, which was released on the Razor & Tie record label later that year. It was his second (after Live! Coast to Coast) and final live album. Clips of the concert, in particular his performance of his comeback song "Joy", can still be seen on YouTube.^[9] In his later years, Pendergrass' “Wake Up Everybody” has been covered by a diverse range of acts from Simply Red to Patti LaBelle and was chosen as a rallying cry during the 2004 Presidential campaign by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to mobilize voters. In addition, Little Brother, Kanye West, Cam'ron, Twista, Ghostface, Tyrese Gibson, 9th Wonder, DMX and DJ Green Lantern have utilized his works.

In 2006, Pendergrass announced his retirement from the music business.^[10] In 2007, he briefly returned to performing to participate in Teddy 25: A Celebration of Life, Hope & Possibilities, a 25th anniversary awards ceremony that marked Pendergrass' accident date, but also raised money for his charity, The Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, and honored those who helped Pendergrass since his accident.^[11]

Personal life

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Pendergrass had four children, Tisha, LaDonna, Tamon and Teddy II. In 1987, he married a former Philadanco dancer named Karen Still, who had also danced in his shows. Karen was Pendergrass' primary caregiver. The couple amicably divorced in 2003. Pendergrass met Joan Williams in the spring of 2006. Pendergrass proposed to Joan after four months and they married in a private ceremony officiated by Teddy's Pastor Allyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008. A formal wedding was celebrated at The Ocean Cliff Resort in Newport, Rhode Island on September 6, 2008.

As members of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Joan Pendergrass set up The Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church Youth Fund in the name of Teddy Pendergrass to provide assistance and a center for Philadelphia's inner city youth.

He published his autobiography, Truly Blessed, in 1992. There are plans to make a feature film biopic of Teddy's life. Tyrese Gibson is set to star as the late singer.

Death

On June 5, 2009, Pendergrass underwent successful surgery for colon cancer and recovered to return home. A few weeks later he returned to the hospital with respiratory issues. After seven months, he died of respiratory failure on January 13, 2010, at age 59 with wife Joan by his side, while hospitalized at Bryn Mawr Hospital in suburban Philadelphia.^[12] Teddy is survived by his mother Ida, wife Joan, three children; Tisha, Teddy II, LaDonna, stepdaughters Sherilla Leftrade, Jessica Avila and four grandchildren and three stepgrandchildren.^{[citation needed]}

Joan Pendergrass is the executrix of The Theodore Dereese Pendergrass Estate.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Main article: Teddy Pendergrass discography

Grammy Awards Nominations

Pendergrass received the following five nominations for Grammy Awards.

Award	Year	Result	Category	Song
Grammy Award	1979	Nomination	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	"Close the Door"
	1982	Nomination	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	"I Can't Live Without Your Love"
	1989	Nomination	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	"Joy"
	1992	Nomination	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
	1994	Nomination	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	"Voodoo"

Other Awards

Pendergrass received several nominations for the American Music Awards between 1979 and 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and Favorite Disco Artist. He won the AMA for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist in 1979, alongside singer Lou Rawls in a tie.

In popular culture

In Eddie Murphy's standup comedy, Delirious, Murphy does an imitation of Pendergrass singing "Only You", saying Pendergrass' masculine voice "scares the bitches into liking him". Cedric The Entertainer references Teddy in the hit stand-up comedy movie "The Kings of Comedy".

Teddy appeared on the dance show Soul Train on a number of occasions.

Latin Legend India, also known as The Princess of Salsa Music, recorded a cover of Teddy's song "Turn off the lights" on her 2010 album, Unica. India explained in an interview that she had grown up listening to some of this music and she had decided to do a cover to this song with a more tropical/Salsa feel to it.

In the live episode of 30 Rock, Dr. Leo Spaceman (performed by Chris Parnell) says that the last good "doing it" song is "Close the Door", and claims that the lack of such songs are the direct cause of erectile dysfunction.

On the Kanye West song "Devil in a New Dress", Rick Ross raps, "Poke County, Jacksonville, write Melbourne/whole clique appetites had tape worms/spinning Teddy Pendergrass vinyl as my J burns."

At the Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011, country band Lady Antebellum paid tribute to Pendergrass, performing a medley that included "If You Don't Know Me By Now."

References

^ allmusic Biography
^ Walters, Patrick (January 13, 2010). "Soul Singer Teddy Pendergrass Dies in Pa. at 59". ABC News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Associated Press). http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9557397. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ "Singer fights his way back after accident". Anchorage Daily News. July 7, 1984. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=Nf0jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iacEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1271,3392372&dq=teddy-pendergrass+dropout&hl=en. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
^ "Singer Suffers Spinal Injury In Auto Crash in Philadelphia". New York Times. 1982-03-19. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EEDD1639F93AA25750C0A964948260. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ Purtell, Tim (1994-03-18). "The Trials of Teddy Pendergrass". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301425,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ Piner, Mary-Louise. "Return to Stage a Personal Triumph for Teddy Pendergrass". disability-marketing.com. http://www.disability-marketing.com/profiles/teddy-pendergrass.php4. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ Christian, Margena (1996-03-25). "Teddy Pendergrass stars in 'Your Arms Too Short to Box With God.'". Jet. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n19_v89/ai_18142954?tag=content;col1. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ "Teddy Pendergrass". Jet. 1998-11-03. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n24_v94/ai_21257376?tag=content;col1. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxHLnpg4zMc
^ Alemour, Olu (2007-05-03). "People Get Teddy". wavenewspapers.com. http://www.wavenewspapers.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=88&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=5621&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1019&hn=wavenewspapers&he=.com. Retrieved 2008-08-03. ^{[dead link]}
^ Waldron, Clarence (2007-07-02). "Teddy Pendergrass' all-star gala marks 25th anniversary of near-fatal car accident". Jet. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_26_111/ai_n19344903?tag=content;col1. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
^ Walters, Patrick (2010-01-14). "Soul Singer Teddy Pendergrass Dies in Pa. at 59". abcnews.go.com. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9557400. Retrieved 14 January 2010.

External links

The Teddy Pendergrass Alliance
Teddy Pendergrass at Philly Soul Classics
Teddy Pendergrass at the Internet Movie Database
Teddy Pendergrass at Discogs
Teddy Pendergrass at WhoSampled
Obituary article at Lasting Tribute
RIP Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass - Daily Telegraph obituary
talking about covering Teddy's song 'Turn Off the Lights'- Interview with Salsa's Princess and a fan of Pendergrass

Persondata
Name	Pendergrass, Teddy
Alternative names	Pendergrass, Theodore DeReese
Short description	American singer, songwriter, composer
Date of birth	March 26, 1950
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of death	January 13, 2010
Place of death	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

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