Teddy Pendergrass TRULY Hated Him More Than Anyone.. (And Now We Know Why)

turn off the light I have to believe in a strong masculine image it's the only way I know and it's not just something I'm trying to sell well at this point is commercial Teddy Pendergrass was riding high in early 1982 he had five multiplatinum albums behind him sold out shows wherever he played and was branching into new business ventures including clothing lines and product endorsements with his remarkable Talent striking good looks and burning sensuality the 31-year-old R and B singer was on the verge of crossing over into the pop mainstream when tragedy struck a late night car crash would leave him paralyzed from the chest down but more of that later first things first why did Teddy fall out with his band mates and most importantly with Harold Melvin for those who may not know Harold Melvin born June 25th 1939 in Philadelphia was a vocalist composer founder and leader of the American r&b/soul vocal group Harold Melvin and the The Blue Notes Melvin sang do on street corners with his childhood friends eventually building a name for himself in and around his neighborhood they took up the name Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and released the single if you love me on the local Josie label in 1956 the group played the local club scene recording intermittently for small labels he became one of the major forces behind the well orchestrated Soul sound that developed in the 70s at Philadelphia International records run by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff the group's repertoire included Soul R and B dwop and disco founded in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the middle of the 1950s as the charlanes the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976 although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997 however the remaining members of the Blue Notes have reunited twice for two Soul Train cruises one in 2013 and another in 2015 during the fourth sailing despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing The Blue Notes most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International in 2013 and 2017 the group reunited when the Centric Network presented the Soul Train Cruise and the Blue Notes reunited for both events although they only performed during the fifth sailing in the 2017 event the group formerly known as the Charlemagne took on the name the Blue Notes in 195 before with a lineup consisting of lead singer Franklin peer Bernard Williams Roosevelt Brody Jesse Gillis Jr and Harald Melvin they recorded for a number of labels without success from its Inception into the 1960s the 1960 single my hero was a minor hit and 1965's get out and let me cry was an R&B hit for land records during this period the group's lineup changed frequently with Bernard Wilson leaving the ACT to start a group called The Original Blue Notes and Harold Melvin bringing in new lead singer John Atkins in 1970 the group recruited Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band Pendergrass had been a former member of Philadelphia R and B group The Cadillacs not the New York group that had hits in the late 1950s and was promoted to lead singer when John Atkins quit the same year this lineup of the group featuring Melvin Pendergrass Bernard Wilson Lawrence Brown and Lloyd Parks was signed to gamble in Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1972 scoring several major R&B and pop hits including million selling singles and albums over the next four years among the Blue Notes most important and successful recordings are love songs such as 1972's if you don't know me by now they're breakout single I miss you the love I lost and socially conscious songs such as wake up everybody and bad luck both in 1975 if you don't know me by now sold over 1 million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Raa on November 21st 19 1972 bad luck holds the record for the longest running number one hit on the hot dance music club play chart 11 weeks a fourth number one R&B hit for the group was 1975's hope that we can be together soon featuring female vocalist Sharon page despite success The Blue Notes lineup continued to change regularly in 1974 Melvin brought in Jerry Cummings to replace Lloyd parks and Sharon pagee was added to the lineup at that time providing solo performances on several recordings while at the top of their success in 1976 Pendergrass quit after an argument over the money he earned a year earlier he had gained billing recognition by having the ACT renamed to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass starting from the wake up everybody album after a heated fight and failure to reach an agreement Melvin replaced Pendergrass with David ebo while Jerry Cummings remained with Harold Melvin The Blue Notes departed Philadelphia International who had signed pend grass for solo recordings and joined ABC records in 1977 where they recorded two albums produced by Melvin as a solo artist Pendergrass enjoyed both ups and downs and will go down in history as one of the most controversial Stars Hollywood has ever produced Theodore Darice Pendergrass was born on March 26th 1950 at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson hospital he was raised solely by his mother Ida Pendergrass because his father Jesse left the family prior and was then M when his son was only 12 years old the young Pendergrass never knew what he was missing however because he and his mom had the support of a large extended family Ida raised Pendergrass her only child in a very religious household the two of them made the Glad Tidings Tabernacle Church their second home in his Memoir truly blessed Pendergrass recalls attending Services up to six days a week and sometimes most of the day on Sundays Glad Tidings was more than a place of worship though it was a refuge isolated from the North Philadelphia ghetto in which it was located Pender grass's religious upbringing introduced him to his first genre of musical influence gospel by the age of three he was singing gospel Selections in front of the congregation of glad tidings when Pendergrass became old enough for school his appreciation for music began to broaden he performed songs like Climb Every Mountain as part of the Philadelphia city boys choir and familiarized himself with R and B and rock and roll by watching American band stand Pendergrass also discovered his passion and talent for the drums by fooling around on the Bandstand at seola's a supper club that employed his mom drumming came naturally to him he could sit down and play any rhythm that popped into his head no matter how intricate or fast when Pendergrass was 13 he and his mother moved to what the singer noted and truly blessed as a fateful location a few blocks from Philly's great R&B Mecca the Uptown Theater paralleling the legendary Apollo Theater of Harlem the up Uptown was one of several venues at the time that primarily showcased black entertainers because of his proximity to the Uptown Pendergrass was able to witness the acts of mowtown stars like little Stevie Wonder Marvin Gay and The Temptations when Pendergrass saw Jackie Wilson's performance send female patrons into a state of Hysteria he resolved to become a singer over the course of the next few years Pender grass's adolescent life took a turn for the worse even though he had always excelled in school he started skipping classes to drink cheap wine with his friends additionally he spent 4 months at the Youth Study Center in Philadelphia his conviction for a robbery that he never actually committed after his sentence was over the Young singer worked hard to catch up on his studies but when he failed the 11th grade he decided to drop out of high school to pursue his dream of becoming a musician during the first couple of years after high school Pendergrass held a number of jobs ranging from picking peaches to driving a 16-ft truck One Summer while waiting tables in Atlantic City he got hired for his first professional music gig he went on the road as the drummer for little Royal but this engagement was short-lived Pender grass's big break finally happened in 1969 when he was discovered by a singer Harold Melvin who was looking for a few singers in a band to rebuild his recently disassembled lineup Pendergrass began touring with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes as their drummer just like he had with little Royal but this job was A Step Above anything he had done before the group played a continuous string of bookings and managed to straddle two different worlds that Pendergrass described and truly blessed as the classier white supper clubs and hotel lounges and the small black clubs and bars frequented by pimps and players within two years of touring with Harold in the Blue Notes Pendergrass transitioned from drums to lead vocals in their Encyclopedia of rock Dave Hardy and Phil Lang describ Pendergrass is singing on Blue Notes hits as tough powerful mixing the styles of gospel and blues shouters he combined an earthy SLE insistence on on the more aggressively paced pieces with mellow moodier vocal work on ballads in addition to his blossoming career Pendergrass had a growing family in the early 1970s he fathered three children Tisha Ladonna and Teddy II who were all born in 1974 but he never married the women Who Bore them he was on the road a lot at this point and split his downtime between the two mothers fed up both women ended up leaving Pendergrass taking the children with them Pendergrass eventually became part of his children's lives but music was always his main focus as mentioned earlier in 1975 he and the Blue Notes split from Harold Melvin because of creative and financial differences unfortunately Philadelphia International records which had signed with the Blue Notes during their time with Harold had no immediate plans to record the separated group primarily due to legal issues because Pendergrass was itching to get back in the studio he decided to leave the Blue Notes when P approached him about a solo contract the singer's decision to go solo at this time was risky because black artists were being overshadowed by new trendy disco music but Pendergrass wasn't worried he told Newsweek magazine you can get some feeling out of good music the only thing you can get out of disco is smelly underarms despite the success of disco Pendergrass succeeded as well each one of his albums went either gold or platinum as a solo artist Pendergrass found a way for his music to appeal to a broader audience reaching both those who liked sweetness and those who preferred Swagger as obser served by a stereo review writer he still belted out his funky Amorous entreaties with a raw virility that set many female La quiver but he sometimes also set aside his club and loin cloth to sing tenderly because of his Newfound versatility crowds flocked to hear Pendergrass sing but more devoted than any were his female fans Pendergrass began to hold ladies only concerts and women would throw teddy bears and lingerie on stage to show their love for the man P's Kenny Gamble referred to as the black Elvis Pendergrass lived his dream of being an R&B star for a decade but on March 18th 1982 his life changed forever while driving on a notoriously windy road in the Germantown section of Philadelphia the breakes on his Rolls-Royce failed and the resulting car crash broke the singer's neck leaving the star paralyzed from the waist down this tragic Misfortune made Pendergrass question s but he eventually found the strength to move forward I ain't going to lie this thing's a bee Pendergrass said in contemporary musicians of his paralysis you go through living hell through all kinds of anxieties and you suffer enormous apprehensions about everything 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 he gradually got back into the swing of things and in 1984 he released his first post- accident album love language which was received with great enthusiasm by fans and critics alike at his Peak the singer was a demigod espe especially to his female fans he was a tall handsome stylish man given to performing in a white vest and a layer of sweat think Barry White in the body of Idris Elba by all accounts women found him irresistible and Pendergrass felt obliged to love as many of them back as he possibly could they rushed to the stage and threw their underwear at him when he performed they disguised themselves as maids to get into his hotel room I think the tone of his voice hit a certain center in them or something suggests James Carter who played drums in his band for seven years and therefore had a ringside seat on the Pendergrass effect he wasn't built like Arnold Schwarzenegger or nothing he came out in that wifey t-shirt and they went crazy we didn't understand it I don't even think he understood it the legend of Teddy Pendergrass who died of cancer in 2010 might be better known had it not been cruy curtailed at both ends his early career is obscured by the fact that he rose to Fame in a band that did not carry his name Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes everybody knows their biggest hits wake up everybody if you don't know me by now the love I lost and don't leave me this way but to this day most people assume the guy who sang those Tunes was Harold Melvin but no it was Pendergrass perhaps that also explains why so many of their songs were covered by other artists most notably Thelma Houston who refashioned don't leave me this way into a disco Smash in 1976 funny enough it wasn't just the female fans who wanted a piece of Pendergrass in 1976 Taz Lang his girlfriend and first manager was shot dead on her doorstep the case remains unsolved many blame the Black Mafia local criminals who resented Lang's control of such a prize asset friends of Pendergrass also recall how before his crash he had found the brake cables cut on some of his other cars then again Pendergrass liked to drive fast and had apparently just trashed his Maserati the week before the crash there were also reports he had been having trouble with his new Rolls-Royce the car company later paid him compensation complicating matters further was Pender grass's relationship with the Philadelphia police as a conspicuously successful black man who drove around town in a Flash car the singer was a regular Target at the time of the accident he was reportedly suing the police for $500,000 for harassment and then there was his passenger that night tenica Watson a transgender performer whom Pendergrass was taking back to his house having already abandoned his original date that evening Pendergrass ected the accident was a police Revenge job at the scene of the crash he begged the relatively unharmed Watson not to leave him alone saying don't let them hurt me in case it is not evident by now Pendergrass was something of a philanderer his wife Karen and other partners took it as a given that when he toured Teddy would sleep with whomever he wanted I'm very choosy about women the singer told an interviewer in 1978 I'm not about to have any lady who's going to run me down and say I've got a report to her where I'm at she has has to realize that I'm a traveling Entertainer and if it's rough on her that's the end of that as mentioned he had three children by two different women all born in 1974 all in all Pendergrass went on to record several more albums duetted with Whitney Houston on her debut and became just about the first wheelchair user in mainstream music appearing on stage and in videos and clearly he regained some of his faculties with regard to women to the extent that he and his wife Karen divorced in 2002 Teddy was the man who wanted it all and he got it and that's it from us today until next time thank you for watching

Channel: Spill Today

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Id: pKo9M8-uKVQ

Length: 15min 34sec (934 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024