what led to the tragic death of teddy pendergrass?”
One of the world’s great soul men, singer Teddy Pendergrass, died at age 59 on Wednesday after a long battle with colon cancer. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Pendergrass, who was paralyzed after a 1982 car accident, died in a Philly hospital eight months after undergoing colon cancer surgery and suffering through a difficult recovery. In his prime in the 1970s, Pendergrass was one of the premier R&B singers in America, leading Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes to the top of the charts with indelible soul classics such as “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and “I Miss You.” After leaving the Blue Notes in 1976, Pendergrass recorded a series of solo hits for the legendary Philadelphia International label into the 1980s, including his signature between-the-sheets hit, “Love T.K.O.” Unlike some of the other velvety Philly-sound singers such as Al Green, Pendergrass’ deep baritone had a gritty, masculine edge that he worked out on seductive slow jams like “Feel the Fire, “Close the Door,”
