[youtube id=”gCVRE6qXdwU”]Teddy Pendergrass’s solo career started well with the release of his self-titled debut in 1977. His good looks and gruff baritone attracted the sex symbol label to his persona by women fans right away. “When Somebody Loves You Back” was another successful collaboration between Pendergrass and songwriting team Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The humble sentiment was an example of how Pendergrass could be an aggressive balladeer on a song like “Close The Door” but then change into a vulnerable romantic grateful for reciprocal love. Life Is A Song Worth Singing was Pendergrass’ sophomore solo album and it reinforced his status as one of the leading R&B love men of the ’70s and early ’80s. This second collection helped to build his legend status and was one of the five albums that eventually made him the most influential male R&B singer until his life-changing car accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the chest down. At the height of his stardom in 1979, Pendergrass pioneered women-only concerts after his manager Shep Gordon noticed the huge numbers of women that would attend his shows. Pendergrass recorded eight more albums after the accident and had moderate success with singles like “Joy” and “Believe In Love” but was never the force he was before the accident. He was fortunate in the sense that his importance to music was already acknowledged from his earlier days with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and then his standout solo career. Pendergrass passed in 2010 from colon cancer. In 2019, BBC Films made the documentary, If You Don’t Me that debuted on Showtime in February 2019.Â
