Renee Van Lee
poet/writer
Philadelphia born soul legend Theodore Dereese Pendergrass has leftus but he will always remain one of my most favorite singers of alltime. Teddy Pendergrass gave us an entire catalog of uplifting songssuch as 'Wake Up Everybody' to sensuous songs as *Close The Door.*
In the 90's, I had the pleasure of reading his biography, *TrulyBlessed* and discovered that the was his mother*s miracle child becauseshe suffered several miscarriages before Teddy Pendergrass was born onMarch 26, 1950. Much to the dismay of his mother Teddy was not close tohis father at all. His father was killed when Teddy was12. I was afan when he started off with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.Thatsoaring tenor and baritone just beckoned the ear to *come on over to myplace.* I look at Teddy Pendergrass' career in utter amazement. Thisman commanded the charts for a great while and held sold out concerts. Men and women alike have great adoration for Teddy Pendergrass. WhenTeddy Pendergrass sang 'The More I Get, The More I Want,' you believedhim. When he sang, *I Don*t Love You Anymore,* you understood him andwhen he sang *You Can*t Hide From Yourself', you instantly knew it. When he sung, *If You Don*t Know Me By Now* the world took heed andeveryone from Patti Labelle To Simply Red echoed the sentiment.
When I was a kid, I remember my father going to the barbershop andbuying the Love TKO album and bringing it home and playing it when hethought we were asleep. My mom went out and bought a dress to wear tothe *For Ladies Only concert My father promised her he*d take her ifshe*d take him to see Aretha Franklin or Chaka Khan in concert whenthey came to Chicago. Man, watching my parents getting prepared forthe concert was like watching a concert! While TP*s 'It Don*t HurtNow' was on the turntable my father was bobbing his head to the beatand my mom is spraying perfume and powder and running back and forth toevery mirror in the house to see which pair of earrings went best withher new outfit. My mother was going to see the Teddy Bear and she wasnot going to be short stopping! Teddy Pendergrass always had apenchant for making hits for the ladies and with the ladies. I reallyloved his duet *Two Hearts* with Stephanie Mills and *Hold Me* withWhitney Houston.
Unlike my parents, I never got a chanceto see TP in concert. In the early 80's after the accident that lefthim confined to a wheelchair his touring schedule came to a halt. ButI will always remember the jewels that he gave to the world even afterhis unfortunate accident*Joy* and My Greatest Inspiration*. After theaccident Pendergrass became a staunch advocate for the disabled just asactor Christopher Reeves.
Radio stations around the world willhave tributes ranging from playing his music to dedication blogs ontheir web sites. Black Entertainment Television may even do a tributelike they did for Michael Jackson. But whatever is in the works, Ijust want to say that Teddy Pendergrass left behind a great body ofwork and he will truly be missed.
