In March of 1982, Teddy Pendergrass was arguably the most popular black recording artist in the world, and the first artist of any color to achieve five consecutive multi-platinum albums. He’d shot to stardom as the singer for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, putting his stamp on Gamble & Huff classics like "If You Don’t Know Me By Now," then elevating to even greater success on his own to become an icon of romantic balladry, and a role model for seductive male singers that remains a defining image to this day. But a tragic car accident left Teddy paralyzed from the neck down, robbing him of the sexual appeal that had made his ladies only concerts so popular, and forever changing the character of his music, and his life. On an exclusive episode of Unsung Teddy’s friends, his wife and children, his musical peers and closest associates share their stories of life with the star and we learn how that tragic accident changed Teddy from a vain, sexually charged seducer to a generous and thoughtful romantic.
What do you think of this Unsung story? Who do you think is unsung? Tell us in the comments, below.
