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How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Pendergrass

BONGANI

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I've never seen a thread about Teddy up here, with his philly soul and that deep husky voice, I cant see how this man can be under the radar so much.
"Harold Melville and the blue notes" IMO didnt deserve that name coz he was the person who stood out the most from the group, infact I think thats why he left them, I'm not sure.
But its his solo work thats the most memorable to me, with tracks like "Love TKO", "Love is the power" "Turn Off the lights", "When somebody loves you back" and my favorite "You're my latest greatest inspiration" Although Gmble and Huff penned most of his tracks ,it doesnt bother me much coz its his voice that I love, although it makes it more appea;ing to me when an artist can actually write.
Its a shame that his career practicly came to a stand still after the car crash that led to his paralysis.
What do ya'l think about this crooner people?
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Man, I love Teddy P! He may be underrated here but many people know of him, especially older people who enjoy r&b/soul and were around to see him during his hey day. My parents are always going on about him, they always talk about how popular he was in his day and how many women loved him lol.

I saw him in concert a few years ago though and I just thought it was so sad to see the physical condition he was in. During the performance, you could tell he wanted to get up and move :-(. Still, his voice was in tip top shape and he put on a great show that night, the whole crowd was really into it. Teddy is really a great soul singer. "Love TKO" is probably my fave song of his :wub:.
 
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Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Because Hannah Montana, Akon, Chris Brown, & Britney Spears are much more worthy of discussion. :p
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

i have his Book and various Hits packages,etc... He is a talented Singer and started out as a Drummer. dude was tight with Harold Melvoin and the Blue notes and when He went Solo He was the first R&B Artist to have his first 5 albums all go Platinum. He was big back in a time period when a Black Artist wasn't doing what he was doing.

He Left Harold Melvoin because him and Melvoin had tension and of course Teddy became seen as a Sex symbol and no leader of a Group is gonna want that. but Harold could Sing his own self. He died back in 1997,but the BlueNotes still Perform to this day. I dug Teddy pendergrass but he was only as Good as the stuff he got from Gamble and Huff. but he made some tight cuts.

i think some folks shy away from him is because of his Accident and this was Pre TMZ, etc... but the stigma is still there to this day. also unlike Marvin Gaye, Teddy was pretty predictable as a artist and unlike Luther Vandross his run didn't last as long. Teddy was a time period thing but he was tough for a minute but there is a distance when it comes to the mention of his name for various reasons i truly believe.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

He had some hits after the accident. Teddy never really crossed over to the pop charts like Marvin or Luther, so he's pretty much unknown outside of the R&B market. In the US at least, if you're not on the pop charts you're not really recognized. Which is why things like the Soul Train Awards were created.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Now that ya'l mention Marvin I think Teddy is a better vocalist than Marvin although artisticly Marvin is way better.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

BONGANI said:
Now that ya'l mention Marvin I think Teddy is a better vocalist than Marvin although artisticly Marvin is way better.
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i have to disagree. Marvin Gaye was a vocal genius. Teddy Pendergrass can sing yes,but he ain't seeing Marvin's 4 part harmonys lead and background and that falsetto ain't to be played with. I have heard many folks call Marvin a Vocal genius I ain't never heard anyone put Teddy over Marvin. I dig them both but Marvin could make the National Anthem sound like church and a strip joint all at once IMO.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Whoa. Talking 'bout Teddy P! One of the smoothest brothers ever!
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Carmour260 said:
Whoa. Talking 'bout Teddy P! One of the smoothest brothers ever!
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You got that right! The album JOY has to be his best in my opinion, and yeah Mistermix I stil mantain Teddy has a better voice than Marvin.
The only reason you havnt heard people put TP over Marvin is because TP did not blow up in the waythat Marvin did. People tend to confuse commercial success with talent.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Pretty Flower
 
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Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

maybe b/c u spelled hisname wrong and teddy penegrass doesn't exist
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Never heard of him. :eek:
 
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Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

shipoffools said:
Never heard of him. :eek:
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Teddy Pendergrass started singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, becoming an ordained minister at ten years old. While attending public school, he sang in the citywide McIntyre Elementary School Choir and in the All-City Stetson Junior High School Choir. A self-taught drummer, Pendergrass had a teen pop vocal group when he was 15.

By his late teens, Pendergrass was a drummer for local vocal group the Cadillacs. In the late '60s, the Cadillacs merged with another more-established group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. In 1970, when the Blue Notes broke up, Melvin, now aware of Pendergrass' vocal prowess, asked him to take the lead singer spot. It's no secret that Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff wanted Marvin Junior of the Dells for their Philadelphia International Records roster. Since the Dells were signed to Chess, they were unavailable. When the gruff'n'ready vocals of Pendergrass came their way, they eagerly signed the group.

Beginning with "I Miss You," a steady stream of hit singles flowed from the collaboration of Pendergrass and Gamble & Huff: "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "The Love I Lost," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody" (number one R&B for two weeks in 1976), and two gold albums, To Be True and Wake Up Everybody.

Unfortunately, the more success the group had, the more friction developed between Melvin and Pendergrass. Despite the revised billing of the group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass, Pendergrass felt that he wasn't getting enough recognition. Around 1976, Pendergrass left Melvin's Blue Notes and formed his own Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendergrass. Briefly, there was some confusion as to which Blue Notes were which. The resolution came when Pendergrass disbanded his Blue Notes in favor of a solo career and Melvin's group signed a recording contract with Source Records, distributed through ABC Records, scoring a hit with "I Want to Be Your Lover."

Pendergrass signed a new contract with Philadelphia International Records in late 1976/early 1977. He burst back on the scene with Teddy Pendergrass, a platinum solo debut that included the top-notch singles "I Don't Love You Anymore," "You Can't Hide From Yourself," and "The More I Get the More I Want." Around this time, Pendergrass began to institute his infamous "Ladies Only" concerts. His next three albums went gold or platinum: Life Is a Song Worth Singing (1978), Teddy (1979), and Teddy Live (Coast to Coast). The hit single "Close the Door" was used in the film Soup for One, where Pendergrass had a small role.

The singer received several Grammy nominations during 1977 and 1978, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. He was also in consideration for the lead in the movie biopic The Otis Redding Story. The '70s ended, but Pendergrass kept racking up the hits. TP, his fifth solo album, went platinum in the summer of 1980 off the singles "Turn Off the Lights," "Come Go With Me," "Shout and Scream," "It's You I Love," and "Can't We Try." It's Time for Love gave Pendergrass another gold album in summer 1981, which included the hit singles "Love TKO" and "I Can't Live Without Your Love."

A 1982 car accident left Pendergrass paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair bound. After almost a year of physical therapy and counseling, Pendergrass returned to the recording scene, signing a contract with Elektra/Asylum in 1983. His ninth solo album, his Elektra/Asylum debut, Love Language went gold the spring of 1984. Philadelphia International issued two albums of unreleased tracks, This One's for You (1982) and Heaven Only Knows (1983). Other albums included Workin' It Back (1985), Joy (1988, whose title track went to number one R&B for two weeks), and Little More Magic (1993). The latter half of '90s found Pendergrass recording for the Surefire/Wind Up label. Truly Blessed (the name of an 1991 Elektra album) is the title of the autobiography Pendergrass co-authored with Patricia Romanowski.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

I read his autobiography a couple years back. It was pretty good. Not as good as Natalie Cole's. I enjoy all of his work esp "Love TKO" and "Close The Door"
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Is It Still Good To Ya
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

soso deaf said:
maybe b/c u spelled hisname wrong and teddy penegrass doesn't exist
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I'm saying! :lol:

Actually to call Teddy a better singer than Marvin is an oxymoron because well, Teddy's biggest influence was Junior Marvin of the Dells. Play "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and TELL me you notice the difference!
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

One of their first hits w/Teddy:



Harold Melvin is the dude singing in falsetto here and is also the guy that "raps" during Teddy's vocal ad-libs.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

troubleman84 said:
Harold Melvin is the dude singing in falsetto here and is also the guy that "raps" during Teddy's vocal ad-libs.
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The falsetto voice is not Harold. I don't know his name but he was the light skinned guy who was only on the 1st album. He's 2nd from the right on this video. Harold does do a verse on "I Hope That We Can Be Together Soon" when Sharon Paige was in the group.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

^^ Ah thanks for the correction. :)

IMHO tho, the Blue Notes were a carbon copy of the Dells. But that doesn't take anything away from them tho. And Teddy went on to great, albeit, brief superstardom in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Hey Sorry ya'l. I went and spelt his name wrong in the title. Its TEDDY PENDERGRASS not PENEGRASS. Sory! Anyway lately I'm loving "The whole town is laughing at me" Regina Belle also did a brilliant cover of it.
 
Re: How come ya'l neva talk about Teddy Penergrass

Thread bump for love of the man's music.

Can we think of any more enjoyable TP songs? Lyrics? Duets?

Marty In LA
 
Stephanie Mills duets

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[youtube]3qE0EPhLafk&fmt=18[/youtube]
 
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