Teddy Pendergrass
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Theodore DeReese Pendergrass, Sr. (born March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) affectionately known as 'Teddy P', "TP", or "Teddy Bear" is an American soul singer.
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[edit] Early life
He was born to Ida Geraldine Epps and the late Jesse Pendergrass. Teddy got his start singing gospel in the church, where he was ordained a minister at the age of 10, and sang doo wop tunes on the street corners in North Philadelphia where he grew up. He was a student at the old Thomas Edison High School for Boys. However, he dropped out in the 11th grade to go in the music business. His first taste of show business was in Nova Scotia, Canada with a James Brown clone of a musician named Little Royal[citation needed]. Afterwards, Pendergrass left for unknown reasons.
[edit] Musical career
Pendergrass' career began when he was a drummer for The Cadillacs, which soon merged with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Melvin invited Pendergrass to become the lead singer after he jumped from the rear of a stage and started singing his heart out. Months later the group signed with Gamble & Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International Records in 1972. The Blue Notes had hits such as "I Miss You", "Bad Luck", "Wake Up Everybody", and many more. Following personality conflicts between Melvin and Pendergrass and a brief stint with Teddy leading a group of Blue Notes[citation needed], Pendergrass launched a solo career and released hit singles like "The More I Get the More I Want", "Close The Door" also redone by Boyz ll Men in 2004, "I Don't Love You Anymore", "Turn Off The Lights", and more. Pendergrass was the first African-American singer to sell five platinum albums in a row. He also began his practice of ladies-only concerts, for which he remains well-known[citation needed]. His first solo album was self titled Teddy Pendergrass (1977), followed by Life Is a Song Worth Singing (1978), Live Coast to Coast and Teddy (1979), 1980's TP and the final Philadelphia International Records album It's Time For Love (1981). In august 1982 PIR also released "This one's for you" while TP was recovering. Even in 1983 the album "Heaven Only Knows" was released. This was his last album containing his pre-accident recordings.
[edit] Personal Life
On March 18, 1982, in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pendergrass was involved in an automobile accident when the brakes failed on his Rolls-Royce when leaving a Philadelphia 76ers game and he hit a tree leaving him paralyzed from the waist down with a spinal cord injury. In the car with him was a transvestite, Tenika Watson, an exotic dancer with an extensive rap sheet, though he never explained his relationship with Watson[1]. He spent six months in rehabilitation. After completing physical therapy, he returned to the studio to record the album Love Language, featuring the 1984 ballad "Hold Me", a duet with the then upcoming star Whitney Houston. He also returned to the public for a performance on July 13, 1985 at the historic Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, then continued to record throughout the 1980s and 90s. Pendergrass has published a biography entitled 'Truly Blessed' with Patricia Romanowski. Pendergrass divorced Karen Still-Pendergrass in 2002 after 15 years of marriage stating irreconciable differences. In 2006, Teddy Pendergrass announced on a radio station in New York that he has officially retired from the music business.[citation needed]
[edit] Discography
- 1977 – Teddy Pendergrass – The Right Stuff
- 1978 – Life Is a Song Worth Singing – The Right Stuff
- 1979 – Teddy – The Right Stuff
- 1979 – Live! Coast to Coast – Philadelphia International
- 1980 – TP – The Right Stuff
- 1981 – It's Time for Love – Philadelphia International
- 1984 – Love Language – Asylum
- 1985 – Workin' It Back – Asylum
- 1988 – Joy – Elektra
- 1991 – Truly Blessed – Elektra
- 1993 – A Little More Magic – Elektra
- 1997 – You and I – Surefire
- 1998 – This Christmas I'd Rather Have Love – Surefire/Wind Up
- 2002 – From Teddy With Love (live) – Razor & Tie
AMG Track Picks Love T.K.O., Turn Off the Lights, Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose
[edit] Grammy Awards history
Career Stats
- Career Wins: 0
- Career Nominations: 5
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
- "Voodoo" Nominated 1994
- "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" Nominated 1992
- "Joy" Nominated 1989
- "I Can't Live Without Your Love" Nominated 1982
- "Close the Door" Nominated 1979
[edit] References
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EEDD1639F93AA25750C0A964948260 NY Times retrieved 03/19/1982
