Born Theodore Pendergrass, 26 March 1950, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 13 January 2010.
Pendergrass joined Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes in 1969, when they invited his group, the Cadillacs, to work as backing musicians. Initially their drummer, Pendergrass had become the featured vocalist within a year. His ragged, passionate interpretations brought distinction to such releases as 'I Miss You' and 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'.
Clashes with Melvin led to an inevitable split and in 1976 Pendergrass embarked on a successful solo career, remaining with the Philadelphia International label. His skills were most apparent on slower material, which proved ideal for the singer's uncompromisingly sensual approach, which earned him a huge following among women. 'The Whole Town's Laughing At Me' (1977), 'Close The Door' (1978) and 'Turn Off The Lights' (1979) stand among the best of his early work and if later releases were increasingly drawn towards a smoother, more polished direction, Pendergrass was still capable of creating excellent records, including a moving rendition of 'Love TKO', a haunting Womack And Womack composition.
However, his life was inexorably changed in 1982, following a near-fatal car accident that left the singer confined to a wheelchair, although his voice was intact. Nonetheless, after months of physical and emotional therapy, he was able to begin recording again. 'Hold Me' (1984), Pendergrass's debut hit on his new outlet, Asylum Records, also featured Whitney Houston, while further success followed with 'Love 4/2' (1986), 'Joy' and '2 A.M.' (both 1988). In 1991, 'It Should've Been You' did much to reinstate him in people's mind's as a major artist. He moved to a new label in 1996 after a lengthy gap in his career.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
01. Joy To The World 02. Little Drummer Boy 03. Christmas And You 04. Christmas Song, The 05. Having A Christmas Party 06. I Won't Have Christmas |
07. We Three Kings 08. Oh Holy Night 09. Happy Kwanza 10. This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love) 11. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) |
01. Don't Keep Wastin' My Time 02. Let's Talk About It 03. Without You 04. You And I 05. Can We Try |
06. One In A Million You 07. Hurry Up 08. Interlude 09. Give It To Me 10. Slow Ride To Heaven |
01. Tired of Being Alone [Al Green] 02. Love TKO 03. Take Me to the River [Al Green] 04. Turn Off the Lights 05. Here I Am [Al Green] |
06. Life is a Song Worth Singing 07. Call Me [Al Green] 08. Close the Door 09. Living for You [Al Green] 10. Come Go With Me |
01. Believe In Love 02. Slip Away 03. I'm Always Thinking About You 04. I Choose You 05. Voodoo 06. Tender |
07. Can't Help Nobody 08. A Little More Magic 09. My Father's Child 10. Say It 11. No One Like You 12. Reprise |
01. She Knocks Me Off My Feet 02. It Should've Been You 03. Don't You Ever Stop 04. It's Over 05. Glad To Be Alive (with Lisa Fischer) 06. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart |
07. I Find Everything In You 08. Spend The Night 09. With You (with Mini Curry) 10. We Can't Keep Going On (Like This) 11. Truly Blessed |
01. Joy 02. 2 A. M. 03. Good To You 04. I'm Ready |
05. Love Is The Power 06. This Is The Last Time 07. Through The Falling Rain (Love Story) 08. Can We Be Lovers |
01. Love 4/2 02. One of Us Fell in Love 03. Never Felt Like Dancin' 04. Let Me Closer |
05. Lonely Color Blue 06. Want You Back in My Life 07. Workin' It Back 08. Love Emergency |
01. In My Time 02. So Sad The Song 03. Hot Love 04. Stay With Me |
05. Hold Me - (with Whitney Houston) 06. You're My Choice Tonight (Choose Me) 07. Love 08. This Time Is Ours |
01. I Can't Win for Losing 02. This One's for You 03. Loving You was Good 04. This Gift of Life |
05. Now Tell Me that You Love Me 06. It's Up to You 07. Don't Leave Me Out Along the Road 08. Only to You |
01. Is It Still Good To Ya? 02. Take Me in Your Arms Tonight 03. I Just Call to Say 04. Can't We Try |
05. Fell the Fire 06. Girl You Know 07. Love TKO 08. Let Me Love You |
01. Come Go With Me 02. Turn Off the Lights 03. I'll Never See Heaven Again 04. All I Need is You |
05. If You Know Like I Know 06. Do Me 07. Set Me Free 08. Life is a Circle |
01. Life is A Song Worth Singing 02. Only You 03. Cold, Cold World 04. Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose |
05. Close The Door 06. It Don't Hurt Now 07. When Somebody Loves You Back |
01. You Can't Hide From Yourself 02. Somebody Told Me 03. Be Sure 04. And If I Had |
05. I Don't Love You Anymore 06. The Whole Town's Laughing At Me 07. Easy, Easy, Got To Take It Easy 08. The More I Get, the More I Want |