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EARLY LIFE He was born to Ida Geraldine Epps and the late Jesse Pendergrass, who left when Teddy was very young and was never a part of Teddy's life. He was a student at the old Thomas Edison High School for Boys. However, he dropped out in the 11th grade to go in the music business. His first taste of show business was in Nova Scotia, Canada with a James Brown clone of a musician named Little Royal. Afterwards, Pendergrass left for unknown reasons. MUSICAL CAREER Pendergrass' career began when he was a drummer for The Cadillacs , which soon merged with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes . Melvin invited Pendergrass to become the lead singer after he jumped from the rear of a stage and started singing his heart out. Months later the group signed with Gamble & Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International Records in 1972. The Blue Notes had hits such as "I Miss You", "Bad Luck", "Wake Up Everybody", "The Two Million Seller", " If You Don't Know Me By Now ", and many more. Following personality conflicts between Melvin and Pendergrass and a brief stint with Teddy leading a group of Blue Notes, Pendergrass launched a solo career and released hit singles like "The More I Get the More I Want", "Close The Door" also redone by Boyz ll Men in 2004, "I Don't Love You Anymore", "Turn Off The Lights", and more. Pendergrass was the first African-American singer to sell five platinum albums in a row. He also began his practice of ladies-only concerts, for which he remains well-known. His first solo album was self titled ''Teddy Pendergrass'' (1977), followed by ''Life Is a Song Worth Singing'' (1978), ''Live Coast to Coast'' and ''Teddy'' (1979), 1980's ''TP'' and the final Philadelphia International Records album ''It's Time For Love'' (1981). In august 1982 PIR also released "This one's for you" while TP was recovering. Even in 1983 the album "Heaven Only Knows" was released. This was his last album containing his pre-accident recordings. Ten years after the accident, he recorded a version of "One Shining Moment," the theme for March Madness Basketball on CBS. PERSONAL LIFE On . He also returned to the public for a performance on July 13 , 1985 at the historic Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, then continued to record throughout the 1980s and 90s . Pendergrass has published a biography with Patricia Romanowski, entitled 'Truly Blessed'. Pendergrass divorced Karen Still-Pendergrass in 2002, after 15 years of marriage, stating irreconcilable differences. He last performed publicly in 2003. In 2006, Teddy Pendergrass announced on a radio station in New York that he has officially retired from the music business. In May 2007, Teddy Pendergrass announced on New York radio station WBLS that he will perform live for the first time since 2003 at a June 10, 2007 benefit concert in Philadelphia. The performance will benefit The Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, formed by Mr. Pendergrass to help improve the quality of life for survivors of spinal cord injuries. DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Teddy Pendergrass discography GRAMMY AWARDS HISTORY Career Stats
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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