Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass ( born March 26, 1950 in Kingstree, South Carolina, † January 13, 2010 in Philadelphia, actually DeReese Theodore Pendergrass ) was an American R & B musician.
His musical roots are in gospel choirs his hometown of Philadelphia; 1969 was Teddy Pendergrass with his doo-wop band "The Cadillacs " in the opening act of the group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. The band's founder Harold Melvin then hired him as a replacement for the former lead singer John Atkins, who was lost during a 1970 tour due to illness. The group had in the course of Phillysound era of producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff numerous commercial successes before Pendergrass finally made the decision to break away from the band and continue working as a solo singer.
His first six albums 1977-1981 reached platinum status. He managed in the pop charts hereby partially top-10 hits. The album Teddy (1979 ) reached # 5 on the U.S. pop album charts.
At the height of his career, he had a serious car accident on March 18, 1982. He came to Pennsylvania with his Rolls -Royce onto a highway from the road. His injuries were so severe that he could no longer walk from then on and was confined to a wheelchair. However, his career, he drove forward. After eight albums for Philadelphia International Records in 1984, he moved to Elektra Records. In 1984, he sang in a wheelchair sitting in the video for Hold Me by Whitney Houston.
On July 13, 1985 Pendergrass met with Ashford & Simpson at the legendary Live Aid concert in Philadelphia. In the 1980s and 1990s, he released more albums and with Patricia Romanowski a biography entitled Truly Blessed.
On 13 January 2010 Pendergrass died at a hospital in Philadelphia colorectal cancer.
Awards
Pendergrass was five times nominated for the Grammy for Best Male R & B Artist:
- Close the Door (1979 )
- I Can not Live Without Your Love (1982 )
- Joy ( 1989)
- How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? (1992)
- Voodoo (1994 )
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Other Publications: