Was Teddy Pendergrass thought to be one of the greatest artists?”
Wake up everybody. Teddy Pendergrass is gone. The Philly soul great died at Bryn Mawr Hospital on Wednesday at 59. Philadelphia International Records founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff released a statement late last night: “Teddy Pendergrass was one of the greatest artists that the music industry has ever known, and there hasn’t been another one since. We’ve lost our voice, and we’ve lost our best friend, but we’re thankful for what we had. It was beautiful. He was one of the best.” Here are excerpts from an interview Gamble and Huff did on WDAS on Wednesday night about the former lead singer of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and solo superstar who paved the way for pillow talking seducers from R. Kelly to Usher. Below is a clip of Teddy P. doing “When Somebody Loves You Back” in 1979, and “Wake Up Everybody” with Melvin and the Blue Notes. Gamble: He just had such a powerful voice. Huff: I remember we went out to attend his first solo performance in California, we were sitting in the
Philadelphia Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass passed away yesterday at the age of 59 after a challenging recovery from colon cancer surgery. He died at Bryn Mawr Hospital, where he had been hospitalized since August. He underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago, and his son said the singer, who had been paralyzed from the waist down after a 1982 car accident, had “a difficult recovery.” “To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,” Teddy Pendergrass II told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
