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 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.
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.
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.
Life Is a Song Worth Singing is the second studio album by American musician Teddy Pendergrass. It was released on June 2, 1978, by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment. Pendergrass supported the album by touring with the Isley Brothers.
Teddy is the third album by the American musician Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1979.
It's Time for Love is the fifth studio album by American R&B singer 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. The single "You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration" was sampled by American rapper Kendrick Lamar in 2024 for his single Euphoria.
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.
Identify Yourself is the thirteenth album by American R&B group the O'Jays, released on the Philadelphia International Records label in 1979. It was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, with four tracks produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, three by group members Eddie Levert and Walter Williams and one by the esteemed Philadelphia producer and composer Thom Bell.
A Little More Magic is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass. It was released by Elektra Records on September 14, 1993. This was the third and last album Pendergrass recorded for Elektra, and was commercially the least successful of the three despite featuring songwriting and production credits from well-known names such as Barry White, Gerald Levert and Leon Huff as well as Reggie and Vincent Calloway.
At Peace with Woman is the second album by American R&B female trio the Jones Girls. Released in 1980, the album reached number seven on the Top Soul Albums chart.
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 at Sigma Sound Studios. 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".
