Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums. Pendergrass's career was suspended after a March 1982 car crash left him paralyzed from the waist down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. He died from respiratory failure in January 2010.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International. The remaining members of the Blue Notes have reunited for Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
A Brand New Me is the sixth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield, released in 1970.
The Stylistics is the debut album by American R&B group the Stylistics, released in November 1971 on the Avco record label. It was produced by Thom Bell and recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The album has been called "a sweet soul landmark."
To Be True is an album released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes on the Philadelphia International record label in February 1975. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff.
Wake Up Everybody is an album released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes on the Philadelphia International record label in November 1975. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff. This would be the last album to include Teddy Pendergrass before he left the group for a solo career.
"Hope That We Can Be Together Soon is a song written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, that was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield as "Let's Get Together Soon" and was included in her 1970 album, A Brand New Me. The track was produced by Gamble and Huff.
Teddy Pendergrass is the debut solo album from the American R&B/soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1977.
Life Is a Song Worth Singing is the second studio album by American recording artist Teddy Pendergrass, released on June 2, 1978 by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment.
Teddy is the third album by R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1979. It included more "bedroom ballads" than his prior releases, and was compared to Marvin Gaye's I Want You album.
Live! Coast to Coast is a live album by the R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass. It was recorded in Philadelphia in 1978 and Los Angeles in 1979. It did rather well on the Billboard album charts, reaching #33 Pop and #5 R&B.
Heaven Only Knows is the seventh album by R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass. It was his final studio album for Philadelphia International, released just after he left the label to record for Asylum Records. It produced one single, "I Want My Baby Back," which reached #61 on the Billboard charts in 1984.
Black & Blue is an album released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes on the Philadelphia International record label in September 1973. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff.
Lloyd Parks is an American R&B/soul singer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is an original member of the Philadelphia International Records group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Lloyd is noted for his high tenor and falsetto vocal leads and harmonies. He is also a founding member of the Epsilons who backed Arthur Conley on his Atco Records hit single "Sweet Soul Music".
Bernard Wilson was a second tenor and baritone R&B, funk and soul music vocalist, who was a member of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and thus helped to define the “Sound of Philadelphia” in the 1970s.
360 Degrees of Billy Paul is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and arranged by Bobby Martin, Lenny Pakula and Norman Harris. Released in 1972, it includes the Grammy Award-winning number 1 pop and soul single "Me and Mrs. Jones" and its follow-up "Am I Black Enough for You?" which reached number 29 on the soul chart and number 79 on the pop chart. The album was expanded and remastered by Big Break Records for compact disc in 2012 with three bonus tracks, new liner notes by Andy Kellman, and new quotes from Billy Paul.
Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia is the eleventh studio album by singer Wilson Pickett released in 1970. After cutting many of his earlier albums in the Deep South, Pickett headed to Philadelphia to work with Gamble and Huff. The album features two of Pickett's most popular singles from the early 1970s - "Engine No. 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You".
When Love is New is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; arranged by Bobby Martin, Dexter Wansel, Norman Harris, and Jack Faith; and engineered by Joe Tarsia. Released in December 1975, it reached #139 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and #17 on the Soul chart. It includes the singles "Let's Make a Baby" which hit #83 on the Pop singles chart, #18 on the Soul chart, and #30 in the UK and "People Power" which reached #82 on the Soul chart and #14 on the U.S. Dance chart. The album was reissued on CD in 2010 by the U.K.'s Edsel Records. This was the final album where Paul was backed by MFSB, the house band of Philadelphia International Records (PIR).
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