mcw00 said:

Understood. And while I won't be tooting my own horn about what I've done to help Haiti during this crisis, trust in knowing... I have perspective.

Identity said:

This picture of him makes me sort of sad, because I can see a lot of pain in his eyes. What a strong man he was, to have endured such an embarrassing tragedy, to have been so well known as a virile sex symbol, to have been reduced to a wheelchair for the second half of his entire life, and yet to have kept on performing and recording the way that he did.

Today, my heart is breaking for Teddy. May he now be resting peacefully.

An Appreciation: Teddy Pendergrass, R&B's Smooth, Sensual Stylist
January 15, 2010
by Jason King


Perhaps it's fitting that music critics often characterized the fervid baritone of soul music icon Teddy Pendergrass, who died from colon cancer on Wednesday at 59, as having the metaphoric power of an earthquake -- rumbling, potent, vital.

Two days ago, a catastrophic earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti, leaving in its wake incomprehensible tragedy mingled with everyday stories of heroic acts of courage. Pendergrass, whose mainstream commercial career declined in the aftermath of a 1982 spinal cord injury resulting from an automobile accident, spent the last two decades living out his own version of resilience in the face of tragedy.

His life was a whirlwind of philanthropic initiatives, passionate promotion of rhythm and blues and determined refusal to let paralysis stop him from performing and recording.

Raised on the rough-and-tumble north Philadelphia streets of the 1950s, Pendergrass was influenced early on by gospel heavyweights such as Sam Cooke, Clara Ward and Shirley Caesar. He preached the holy word before he hit puberty; his predilection for rhythm earned him cash as a teen drummer. Then, at the tail end of the 1960s, Teddy emerged as the stellar frontman for the stellar soul outfit Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes even though his name wasn't in the title.

What brought him instant fame was that tempestuous baritone, cut from swatches of the same textured cloth as Otis Redding's full-throttle instrument. Alongside Russell Thompkins of the Stylistics and Eddie Levert of the O'Jays, Pendergrass stands as the greatest interpreter of the '70s "Philly Soul" songs created by the writing-production team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.

His churchy, swaggering sound -- a voice that reportedly made Marvin Gaye jealous -- could easily careen over swirling strings, chipper horns and disco beats on nightclub classics such as "Don't Leave Me This Way" and "Bad Luck." It could just as easily settle into restraint and sensitivity on ballads like "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and "I Miss You."

What's more, it provided moral authority on social empowerment tunes like "Wake Up Everybody" and on self-motivation ballads like "Life Is a Song Worth Singing." 1980's nakedly romantic "Is it Still Good to Ya," penned by Ashford & Simpson, remains his most dramatic vocal performance.

With his bearded, gruff machismo, Pendergrass epitomized the 1970s suave black playboy, a Hugh Hefner of sorts. Swooning women would dub him "Teddy Bear," and what was implied was that he was both a respectable gentleman with the lights on and a respectable freak with the lights off.

When his solo career officially launched in 1977, Pendergrass traded in the Blue Notes' pageant-like suits for open button butterfly-collar shirts, gold medallions and clingy pants. His live shows, which staged over-the-top romantic set pieces exclusively for the ladies, sometimes morphed dangerously into campy boudoir theater.

Some critics found his trademark mix of showmanship and bombastic vocals to be overblown and crass. Others, in the industry and beyond, held up Pendergrass' authoritative example of black masculinity to terrorize more "feminine" singers like Luther Vandross and Sylvester. But the midnight ladies-only shows Pendergrass came to pioneer in the 1970s also helped black female audiences emerge as a significant musical market, one that would feature prominently into the 1980s and beyond.

After his car accident, Pendergrass was quickly eclipsed by the punkier sounds of Rick James and Prince, who brought to the surface much of what had been implicit in Pendergrass' eroticism.

Still, it's worth remembering all that he brought to pop music. He's an essential link to the '80s light pop soul of artists such as Whitney Houston and Vandross, both of whom he worked with after his accident. And even more crucially, he's the link to the under-researched '80s U.K. soul revival scene helmed by artists such as Simply Red, who appreciatively covered his bedroom slow jams.

I served on the board of the R&B Foundation with Mr. Pendergrass, although I did not know him personally, and I wrote about him once for Vibe, in a short comparison column to 1990s neo-soul revivalist Jaheim. For me, Mr. P was the king of mutuality and respect in romantic relationships, a quality captured perfectly in the lyrics to one of his biggest hits: "It's so good, so good lovin' somebody when somebody loves you back."

The lights may be turned off Teddy, and the door may be closed, but you're still with us.


http://www.latimes.com/en...8124.story

The good ones are dropping like flies and we're left with a bunch of bullshit making records. It's really depressing.

depressing,indeed

The New York Times.
Teddy Pendergrass, R&B Soul Singer, Dies at 59

http://www.nytimes.com/20...?ref=music

RIP, Teddy. We're losing our legends too quickly and too young, and there's no one worthy of taking their places.

silverchild said:

This has always been one of the most powerful moments in music that I've ever seen.

God, I loved this guy's voice so much. Every time I heard his stuff with Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes I would remember what I too often forgot; that he was one of the best R&B singers of his generation.

In his solo career he became too much of a corny ladies man (many of his gigs were restricted to "ladies only" for instance) and set the template for many more corny R&B lovermen to come. But his voice was always a thing of beauty. Good drummer too, apparently.

His fate was a cruel one and behind closed doors he must have suffered mental anguish to have lost so much, but he must also have taken comfort from his many blessings. God rest his soul.

Teddy Pendergrass onstage in the 1970s.
Photos: Getty Images








Teddy Pendergrass with Meat Loaf and Debbie Harry of Blondie in Los Angeles circa 1980.




Teddy Pendergrass at work in a Philadelphia studio in 1984.
Photo: Weiner/Retna




Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass and Mo'Nique attend the "Teddy 25" celebration at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on June 10, 2007.
Photo: Morgan/WireImage




Teddy Pendergrass performing at "The Sounds of Philadelphia" concert in Atlantic City on June 7, 2008.
Photo: Root/Retna





Teddy Pendergrass at the R&B Foundation Press Conference in Philadelphia on April 30, 2008.
Photo: Lake/WireImage



Remembering Teddy Pendergrass: The R&B Great's Life in Photos (Rollingstone.com)
[Edited 1/15/10 8:31am]

Thanks Teddy for the music, thank you so much for the love....R.I.P.

This weekend i expect a soul music tributes to flood in on UK radio....

r.i.p.

Thank you for making this a sticky, Mod's.










=====
[Edited 1/15/10 10:05am]

Timmy84 said:

Here video for this song.

Remembering Teddy Pendergrass: Leon Huff
January 15, 2010



As the music world continues to mourn the loss of the late, great Teddy Pendergrass, Essence.com spoke with Leon Huff, one-half of Gamble & Huff. Co-founder of Philadelphia International Records--Pendergrass's label--and a producer responsible for some of his biggest hits, including "Close The Door" and "Love TKO," Huff talks about the man, the music and the legend that was Teddy Pendergrass.



When did you first learn of Teddy's passing?

LEON HUFF: [Kenny] Gamble called me last night at about 10 or 11 o'clock and he told me then. He was in his last stages [of cancer] so we had a feeling for it and were definitely prepared for it.


What was your initial reaction?


HUFF: Sadness. Then, I started to reflect and I knew Teddy wasn't suffering any more. It's the end of an era, so I have a lot of mixed emotions. But I have nothing but great memories with Teddy.

Can you share some of those memories? What was the one thing that stood out about Teddy?

HUFF: It was his voice. Anybody who experienced his live performances, when he was in his peak years, experienced one of the greatest concerts they have ever seen. And the ones that didn't see Teddy live, they missed a treat. One of my main memories was going to California with Gamble and witnessing his debut performance in California at the Roxy Theater. I think it was for his first album. That's when I knew Teddy was something special. When he walked out on that stage and before he even opened his mouth, the females went crazy. I knew then that Teddy was something that was waiting to explode. He had a great band but when Teddy started singing, he just tore the house up. It was a successful debut and Teddy's career built from there.

What was he like to work with behind the scenes?

HUFF: I try to use the right words to give you some sort of idea, but I wish I could have filmed it so you could have seen the energy and all the emotion that Teddy put into those songs. I will never forget the experience of watching him perform on the tracks that me and Gamble just produced. It was just a mind-boggling situation because Teddy was just in rare form. He was very serious about his voice and how it sounded on those records. Teddy was always great with his pronunciation and diction. You could always understand every word he said, which always made it great for the song. Teddy was just an awesome artist and I always looked forward to working on Teddy's next album.

Do you have a favorite Teddy song or album?

HUFF: I enjoyed all of them, but the song that really stuck out was "Wake Up Everybody." Watching Teddy perform that song gave me chills. I remember most of the sessions, but I couldn't really pick one because every time I hear a different one I say, "Oh, that's my favorite one!"

Teddy left such an indelible mark on music. What do you think was his greatest contribution to the way we listen to R&B music today?


HUFF: Teddy's voice. There was no other voice like Teddy's--no one even comes close. He was the first Black solo male artist to ever have an all-female concert. That was a first and it was awesome. Teddy's voice, his performance was unforgettable. It was that voice that sets him apart.

Tell me more about that concert.

HUFF: That was in the early '70s at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia. The females just surrendered to Teddy that night. He sold tons of albums after that. There were nothing but females all waiting for this tall, dark and handsome guy to come out and entertain them. It was pandemonium when Teddy walked out on that stage. They were actually throwing their underwear at him. And those women still love Teddy to this day.


http://www.essence.com/en...z0chnJBaXV
[Edited 1/15/10 10:15am]

TD3 said:

I second that.....

http://www.guardian.co.uk...s-obituary

Music for the soul, heart and mind.... r.i.p. Teddy

You guys seem 2 b ignoring his Elektra albums. Some of them were pretty good:


I can't find videos for "In My Time", "2am" or some of the other songs from Elektra.

daPrettyman said:

2am when the partys over.....that's my jam!

I could never get enough of this track because of the gospel-infused howl near the end. Still gives me chills.

Identity said:

I think it's been brought up a few times in this thread.

Identity said:

This is why I thing old skool Soul/R&B is the best music in the world. It could be smooth, mellow, raw, rough, sweet or funky. It can truely touch your soul in a way I don't believe any other genre of music can.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

R.I.P. Mr. Pendergrass @)---}-----

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Songwriters/producers Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff on Teddy.

Identity said:

He was still so handsome though, look at that sexy smile. Just a vibrant man all around.

Identity said:

Some of today's singers need to take note of this and get off that damn autotune! They could also invest in some voice lessons or just go somewhere and sit down if God hasn't blessed them with a voice.

bellanoche said:

I totally agree with you, but you and I both know it's not going to happen. It's all about marketability and how "good looking" and "visually appealing" the person or group is to the masses.

Today's stars never would have made it 20 or 30 years ago. For the simple fact that it wasn't about looks, but it was about talent. I can't imagine living in a world without Teddy, Barry White, Stevie Wonder, etc. All of these guys don't fit the modern-day "marketing" mold and would have never gotten their shot.

daPrettyman said:

Amen to that, especially. I was driving today listening to my Teddy compilation and thinking about how I have loved these songs for 30 years, and I could not imagine having lived a life that did not have this music as a backdrop. I know people say it ad nauseum, but this is REAL music. The emotion, the voices, the lyrics, the musicianship. It is the real deal. That's why it is timeless. "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck" are as relevant today as they were when they were originally written. Folks like Marvin, Stevie, Curtis, Sly and Teddy were not afraid to sing about what's going on in the world. Who will care about a song like "Paparazzi" 3 years from now let alone 30? Mindless entertainment is fine here and there, but the majority of stuff on the radio/TV is so numbingly vapid that I cannot stand it. Most mainstream artists today seem to avoid political and social commentary at all costs for fear of the risk of hurting their marketability or maybe they're just too dumb to know or care what's going on in the world.

I hate to sound like an old fogey at 34, but I really miss the days when real artists like Teddy and the ones you mentioned ruled the airwaves because they had great talent and substance - not great plastic surgeons and stylists.

bellanoche said:

I agree with you for sure. For me, it's the arrangement, the instrumentation, the lyric and delivery that makes songs by Teddy and others from that period special. If you listen to a song like "Wake Up Everybody", "Close The Door", etc., those songs are arranged perfectly to fit the mood and lyric of the song.

The newer songs don't give you the same emotion. Most of this drum machine, keyboard loop crap dies really fast and gets "old" to a person. They don't seem to revisit the song as they do a song with real instruments and people playing the track. Think about the recurrent songs you hear on pop radio, most of them are songs that have some emotional value. If it's a trendy song, it dies fast.

SoulAlive said:

This is my second favorite song by him, beat only by Love TKO.
His voice was so warm and effortless. And in his later years, seeing him perform was a wonderful inspiration for those of us with disabilities. I remember the first time I saw him after his accident and I was so proud.

I didn't see this, but this is my favorite Teddy song on so many levels.

I just posted this a minute ago on YouTube: