Teddy Pendergrass
This is Soul Train version of Teddy P’s Love TKO. I think that Love TKO shows the power and smoothness of Teddy’s voice. Close the Door is another great tune (see below). Teddy was a staple in the late ’70s and early ’80s. If you were throwing a party and needed a slow tune, you could throw on some Isleys, Luther or Teddy.
When I think of Teddy P’s life, I’m kind of sad. He was a hit with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Then he exploded in his solo career. He had that Philly sound. (Think O’Jays.) He was about to enjoy some of the crossover success that Lionel Richie and Jeffery Osborne (and Michael, of course) enjoyed in the early ’80s. In 1982, he had a near fatal motor vehicle crash, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He returned to the stage, but it was never the same.
From RS:
Teddy Pendergrass, one of the most successful R&B singers of the 1970s and ’80s, passed away yesterday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 59. Pendergrass was diagnosed with cancer last year and had a difficult time recovering from surgery; he died at Bryn Mawr Hospital outside of his native Philadelphia, ABC News reports. The five-time Grammy-nominated singer had chart-topping hits in three different decades with 1978’s “Close the Door,” 1988’s “Joy” and 1991’s “It Should’ve Been You,” plus well-known songs like “Love TKO,” “Two Hearts” with Stephanie Mills and “Hold Me,” a duet with Whitney Houston that featured on Houston’s 1985 debut album.
Remembering Teddy Pendergrass: photos of the smooth soul singer.
Pendergrass’ rise to international fame was briefly halted after he was involved in a 1982 car crash that left him in the hospital for six months and paralyzed from the waist down, but he didn’t let the accident prevent him from making music. “He had about 10 platinum albums in a row, so he was a very, very successful recording artist and as a performing artist,” Pendergrass’ friend and collaborator Kenny Gamble, of Gamble & Huff, told the AP. “He had a tremendous career ahead of him, and the accident sort of got in the way of many of those plans.” (more… )