Teddy Pendergrass

Less than two weeks into 2010, the Sound of Philadelphia lost its most treasured voice with the passing of Teddy Pendergrass. Even back when he was with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Teddy was destined for the spotlight; just listen to him flawlessly navigating the knife's edge between reconciliation and rejection in their breakout hit, "If You Don't Know Me By Now." As a solo superstar, Teddy actually defined the term "smooth groove" in "Come Go With Me," slipping into six minutes of virile-yet-vulnerable, silk-pajama seduction. And armed with a track cowritten by Bobby Womack's brother and Sam Cooke's daughter — not to mention backing from Gamble & Huff's sonic sensuality — Teddy scored a knockout with "Love T.K.O."

In Next Steps, Teddy explores the arc of love in all its phases — from dream to desolation.

The simple fact is that Teddy Pendergrass sang love songs like nobody else, and no matter what stage that love was in, from pending to ending, he was always able to give voice — magnificently — to its expression. Just listen to his late-night musings, as he wistfully pondered his hopes and dreams in the quiet storm of "And If I Had." Or the pulse-pounding ecstasy of a love affair in full effect as he teamed with Stephanie Mills in the funky disco groove of "Two Hearts." And when the lovin' finally burned down to its embers, Teddy left us — and her — wanting more, delivering a parting embrace laced with sweet melancholy in "Can't We Try."

In Deep Cuts, Teddy returns from a devastating car crash that paralyzed his body . . . but not his career.

The 1982 car crash that left Teddy Pendergrass paralyzed from the waist down couldn't keep him from a triumphant return to both stage and studio. In 1985, he ended ongoing speculation about an early retirement, with a monumental appearance at that summer's Farm Aid concert, and with the aptly titled Workin' It Back, which features "Love 4/2," a slow jam that bridges the gap — both emotionally and historically — between Barry White and D'Angelo. By the time of 1993's "I'm Always Thinking About You," the lion had regained his growl, striding from a bedroom purr to an arena-filling roar and back again. But maybe there's no better way to remember the ordained minister from the City of Brotherly Love than with his deeply spiritual reminiscence of his own life's highs and lows, "Truly Blessed."

He never won a GRAMMY®. He never reached the top of the Pop charts. But sometimes, mere numbers can't tell the whole story. Because if ever there were a Principal of the Old School, the late Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was the man. After a run with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes that edged him toward stardom — and nearly pushed Melvin out of the lead spot in his own band — Teddy grabbed the solo spotlight and never let go. Where Marvin Gaye inspired sexual healing, Pendergrass radiated sexual feeling, strutting the stage like a lion at a string of "For Ladies Only" concerts that established him as Philly soul's undisputed king. And even after a car crash left him paralyzed, nearly taking his life in the process, he summoned his sheer star power to pull him out of the hospital and back into the studio for what has to be one of the most remarkable second acts in all of pop history.