Thursday, January 14, 2010

Teddy Pendergrass (1950-2010)

I received an e-mail this morning from a pen pal in Long Island who mentioned that 70's R & B icon Teddy Pendergrass had passed away after a bout with colon cancer at 59.

What I didn't know, in reading some articles in the interim, was that Pendergrass had been a drummer-vocalist for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and before that, manned the drums for the Cadillacs. What I do know, though, is that Pendergrass' solo career nearly crashed, literally, when he was paralyzed from the waist down after a 1982 accident. He would appear at Live Aid in 1985, but scaled back his concert tours until retiring in 2000, returning only for a 25th anniversary concert in his honor in '07.

Rest in peace, Teddy. You will be missed.

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