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There have been two men in soul music whose presenceon the mic could stop a wild animal in its tracks - letalone a love-starved woman: “The Wicked” Wilson Pickettand Theodore “Teddy Bear” Pendergrass. The latter was aferociously reverent soul singer of earth scorching sexuali-ty that many longed to tame and claim, or be forevertamed and claimed by. He could be as seductive as Marvinor as silken as Reverend Al, but no one could match himfor testosterone-fueled sex appeal. To the sacred table ofsoul, Teddy brought a righteous, gospel-hewn bravadoalong with a smoldering, head strong swagger. For loversaround the world, he was the platinum status standard ofsoul man.

Born March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, PA - a city he raised himself up from poverty within andloved with all his heart throughout - Theodore DeReese Pendergrass possessed the gift of soul-ful persuasion from a very early age. His mother, Ida, had him standing up on a chair in a store-front church at the age of 2 singing for The Lord. Amazingly, he was an ordained minister by 10.But at 15 he took another path, becoming the drummer for the group The Cadillacs which went onto back supper club soul stirrers Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. It wasn’t long after Melvin gota taste of the glowing young man’s singing that he ushered Theodore on up to the front line of hisvocal quintet where he would instantly become the secret weapon Star of The Blue Notes. So domi-nant were his aura and authority that casual fans often mistook Theodore for Harold - for surely aman with his vocal command MUST be the leader.

“To Be Free…” REMEMBERING TEDDY PENDERGRASS

Signed in ‘72 to Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff‘s CBS-distributedPhiladelphia International Records label within a pioneering crop of tal-ent that also included The O’Jays (f/ Eddie Levert & Walter Williams), theIntruders (f/ “Little Sonny” Brown) and Billy Paul, the Blue Notes facedstiff competition even within their own ranks. But with the musicalsupremacy of the company’s writers, arrangers and producers, and thelead voice of Pendergrass, the group waxed hit after hit - from the back-beat blues of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and “I Miss You” to theelectrifying show burners “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and two of disco’sbedrock smashes “The Love I Lost” and “Bad Luck” to the uplifting mes-sage of “Wake Up Everybody.” For four pressure cooker years (1972 to1975), the group held its own before it became all too clear thatPendergrass demanded a stage of his own. His swan song from the groupwas ironically titled “Don’t Leave Me This Way.”

When the man dropped his 1977 self-titled debut album - dressed casu-ally in front of a solid white background that intimated “new beginning”- he re-introduced himself as Teddy Pendergrass with an 8-song offeringthat found him pulpit preachin’ “You Can’t Hide From Yourself, boudoirbraggin’ “The More I Get, The More I Want,” blues croonin’ “The WholeTown’s Laughing at Me,” pillow talkin’ “Be Sure”...and slingin’ a zinger

BYA . S C OT T G A L LOWAYMusic Editor – Urban Network

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for done-wrong bruthas that demanded it, “I Don’t LoveYou Anymore” - super serving all factions of fans with360 degrees of soul mastery. Teddy eased the world intothe idea of him as a solo artist by humbly opening forthe Isley Brothers during their “Go For Your Guns” tour.

However, it was on Life is a Song Worth Singing, Teddy’splatinum plus-selling sophomore statement of ‘78, thathe blasted his likeness into the Mount Rushmore of Soulwith a filler-free 7-song classic. Thom Bell & LindaCreed graced him with the inspiring title track(arranged and produced by the prolific Jack Faith who,sadly, is also recently departed), followed by the double-barreled club thumpers “Only You” and “Get Up, GetDown, Get Funky, Get Loose,” beautifully bridged bythe soul-stoking balm of compassion “Cold, ColdWorld.” And that was just Side 1!

Side 2 opened with what would become one of themost fool-proof baby-making classics of all-time,“Close the Door.” Upon receiving this machismo-drenched declaration of desire, a woman innatelyunderstood she had granted an imperial specimenof man the pleasure of letting him “do what I wantto you” - to do what a man was put on this earth todo - to lay some sho-nuff serious lovin’ on her...inequally measured long strokes of strength and sen-sitivity. “Let’s bring this day to a pleasant end /Let’s get lost in each other...” The song begged up asequel/twin titled “Turn Off The Lights” on the nextalbum, Teddy, leading many a water cooler comedi-an to predict further follow-ups such as “Pull Backthe Sheets,” etc.... Life is a Song Worth Singingclosed with two more powerfully indelible gems: thecloud-busting “It Don’t Hurt Now” and the joyouslygratifying “When Somebody Loves You Back.” Thehook: “Not 70/30 - Not 60/40 - Talkin’ ‘bout 50/50Love.”

Teddy was a bona-fide superstar now, embarking onsold out “For Ladies Only” tours that his mostdevoted femmes of all ages and races took veryseriously. Long fabled are the tales of womenexpressing their appreciation for his cuddly teddybear offerings and shirtless, sweat-soaked serenadesby showering him back with undergarments of grati-tude. Teddy volleyed back with the ultimate souvenir -the double album set Live! Coast to Coast - then cameback at the top of the ‘80s even stronger with his fifthLP, TP, featuring the incomparable Cecil & LindaWomack-penned “Love T.K.O.” as well as “Can’t WeTry.” Fans got a special treat the next year when herecorded the duet “Two Hearts” with pint-sizedStephanie Mills, whom he whisked off to the road forthe amazing “Looks Like Another Love T.K.O. Tour” andlater shared the stage with in a touring production ofthe musical “Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With God”(1998).

As if all of that weren’t enough, his sixth album, It’sTime for Love, included what now stands as among themost requested wedding songs ever, “You’re My Latest,My Greatest Inspiration.” By this time, Marvin Gaye wasawash in personal drama, Al Green had become a min-ister, Barry White and Isaac Hayes were slipping, and

newer talents like Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne andLionel Richie occupied their own lanes. With five con-secutive platinum-selling albums behind him, TeddyPendergrass was living large as Lord of the Soul ManMountaintop.

It all came to a screeching halt on March 18, 1982when in an arbor mist of mystery, Teddy ran his RollsRoyce off the road, crashed into a tree and was ren-dered paralyzed from the waist down. A collective shud-der shot through the industry as many doubted aloudthat a singer so immortalized for his sex appeal couldever resurrect his career relegated for life to a wheel-chair. Pendergrass proved them wrong.

After spending six months hospitalized and followingextensive physical therapy, Teddy returned in 1984 withthe gold-selling Love Language album onElektra/Asylum Records, buoyed by the sexy movietheme “Your My Choice Tonight (Choose Me)“ penned byLuther Vandross and Marcus Miller, and “Hold Me,” aduet with a then up-and-coming Whitney Houston. Atellingly titled follow-up, Workin’ it Back, faired moremodestly. On July 13, 1985, he took the outdoor stage of“Live Aid” with Ashford & Simpson and before an inter-national television audience of millions, joined them ontheir anthem, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’sHand).”

Then after a three year hibernation and rehabilitationperiod - during which the act of making music provedpinnacle to his healing - came the Grammy-winningcomeback smash, “Joy,” the infectious song producedby former Midnight Star members Reggie & VincentCalloway. The feel-good groover revealed Teddy as closeto the strength of his Philadelphia International heyday

as he ever would post-crash and swiftly ascended to #1on Billboard’s R&B chart, where it stayed for two glori-ous weeks in 1988. It was one of the sweetest tri-umphant comeback stories in music history. Thoughmore albums followed, Joy marked his last knockoutappearance as a soul-pop force to be reckoned with.

However, in 2001 he finally embarked upon a tour ofintimate venues across the United States, thrillingaudiences with defiantly transcendent performances ofhis classic hits - funk bombs, sex downs and spiritedaffirmations all - before an audience that he absolutelywowed by the sheer will of his conviction, bravery andtalent. I will never forget the image of him up on stage

at The Wiltern Theatre – Valentine’s Day 2002 in LosAngeles - literally rockin’ his wheelchair from side toside with a newfound boogie power that delighted allin attendance and on their feet – not a one feelinghe had delivered anything less than his personalbest and their money’s worth.

Teddy’s later years found him focusing more on fami-ly, community efforts around Philly and the TeddyPendergrass Alliance - a non-profit organization heco-founded in 1998 to assist those ailing, as he had,with spinal cord injuries. That same year he turnedinward and delivered the autobiography “TrulyBlessed” (penned with Patricia Romanowski andgiven the same title as his 1991 CD) and lived to seea stage musical based on his life titled “I Am What IAm” premier in Chicago at the Black EnsembleTheatre. He was also humorously immortalized byEddie Murphy in the comedy, “The Nutty Professor.”

We lost Teddy Pendergrass on Wednesday evening,January 13, 2010, from respiratory failure followingcomplications of a surgery for colon cancer. He wasbeing treated at Bryn Mawr Hospital in suburbanPhiladelphia after “a difficult recovery.” He was 59.His son, Teddy Pendergrass II, states, “To all hisfans who loved his music, thank you. He will live onthrough his music.”

His final recording was a version of Edwin Hawkins’contemporary gospel classic “Oh, Happy Day,” producedby David Nathan and Preston Glass for the Time Lifevarious artists CD Songs 4 Worship Soul, recordedSeptember 2008 in Philadelphia.

Having spent just shy of half his Earthly life paralyzed,Teddy Pendergrass leaves behind a legacy not only as amusical giant, he was a real life “survivor.” He dealtwith and proceeded forward from the pain and sufferingof his cruel circumstance to continue doing what heloved - to serve his community, provide for his family,and be a light of inspiration on multiple levels.

Theodore “Teddy” Pendergrass was one of the lastsoul men standing despite being wheelchair-bound.Now, his soul soars on mighty, magnificent wingsthrough the Heavens - like a high-flying falcon inrestoration - “Free to Be” who he is...in all his glorioustotality. Down here on the ground, his music will stir thecauldrons of masculinity meeting femininity at thecrossroads of fever and ardor…forever.

rk

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