Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass lived 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 chest 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 was 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.
Joe Simon was an American soul and R&B musician. He began as a gospel artist singing with the Golden West Singers in the Bay Area in California. A consistent presence on the US charts between 1964 and 1981, Simon charted 51 U.S. Pop and R&B chart hits between 1964 and 1981, including eight times in the US top forty, thirty-eight times in the top 40 of the US R&B charts, and 13 chart hits in Canada. His biggest hits included three number one entries on the US Billboard R&B chart: "The Chokin' Kind" (1969), "Power of Love" (1972), and "Get Down, Get Down " (1975). In 2021, he was one of the 60 nominees for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Linda Diane Creed, also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.
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.
"Close the Door" is a hit song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was a hit for Teddy Pendergrass in 1978, and was released from his second solo album, Life Is a Song Worth Singing.
So Full Of Love is a 1978 album by the O'Jays. The album contains the No. 1 R&B hit "Use ta Be My Girl", and was awarded RIAA Platinum Certification for sales of 1,000,000 copies.
TP is the fourth album by American R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass. It reached No. 14 on the US pop albums chart and No. 3 on the US R&B albums chart. It spawned the top ten singles, "Can't We Try", which was also featured in the soundtrack to the film Roadie, and "Love T.K.O." TP is Pendergrass's only album while at Philadelphia International Records made without any input from label founders Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.
Teddy Pendergrass is the debut solo album from the American R&B/soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1977.
Teddy is the third album by the American musician Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1979.
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.
It's Time for Love is an album by the R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass. It did quite well, peaking at #19 on the Billboard albums chart and #6 on the R&B album charts. It also spawned three singles: "I Can't Live Without Your Love", "You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration" and "Nine Times Out of Ten/The Gift of Love". This was the last album released by Pendergrass before being paralyzed in a car accident the following year.
This One's for You is an album by the American musician Teddy Pendergrass. It was released just after a bad car accident Pendergrass was involved in, which left him paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury. The album did not do as well as his previous albums did on the Billboard 200, peaking at only #59, but it did do well on the R&B album chart, reaching #6. One single was released, "I Can't Win for Losing", which peaked at only #32 on the R&B charts.
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.
I Miss You is the debut album by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, released on Philadelphia International in August 25, 1972. Produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, the album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia.
Let Me Be Good to You is an album by the American R&B singer Lou Rawls, released in 1979 on Philadelphia International Records.
"Turn Off the Lights" was a hit for R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass, released as a single on June 23, 1979. Released from his hit album, Teddy, the song hit No. 48 on the Pop charts and No. 2 on the R&B charts.
