Died On This Date (January 13, 2010) Teddy Pendergrass / Soul Music Icon
themusicsover Teddy Pendergrass
March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010
Teddy Pendergrass was a multi-platinum selling soul singer who first came to prominence as the lead singer for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes during the early ’70s. As part of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s storied Philadelphia International label, the Blue Notes scored hits with songs like “The Love I Lost,” “Bad Luck (Part 1),” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” which sold in excess of two million copies. They have been called the most covered Philly soul group in history. During the mid ’70s, Pendergrass left the group to launch a solo career that found him staying relevant during the dawning age of disco while still maintaining his soulful roots. “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” “Close The Door,” and “Do Me” were just a few of his fans’ favorites. Pendergrass was also a very popular concert draw. As a true sex symbol, he occasionally hosted “Ladies Only” shows which generally ended with the audience flinging their panties or stuffed teddy bears to the stage. Tragedy struck in 1982 when the brakes in his car failed causing him to crash into a tree. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and with minimal use of his arms and hands. After three intense years of seclusion and physical therapy, Pendergrass emerged as a surprise guest with Ashford & Simpson at 1985’s Live Aid concert in Philadelphia. The song, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” was an emotional moment and one of the highlights of the festival (video below). Pendergrass soon mounted a comeback that included the hit albums, Workin’ It Back and Joy. Pendergrass retired from the music business in 2006. During the spring of 2009, he underwent surgery for colon cancer and apparently never fully recovered. Teddy Pendergrass died on January 13, 2010 at the age of 59.
What You Should Own
Leigh Bowery was a popular Australian performance artist, actor, model and pop star whose influence was felt in the ’80s and ’90s London and New York City. After graduating from high school, Bowery moved to London where he began building a following due to his dance and music performances as well as his outlandish costumes. In 1985, Bowery launched his weekly disco club night called Taboo, which quickly became London’s answer to Studio 54. It was also very influential to the city’s fashion scene until it closed in 1987. In 1993, Bowery formed the band, Minty who scored a minor hit in the Netherlands, but failed to ignite much excitement beyond the controversy surrounding the theatrics of their shock-horror laden concerts. Bowery is said to have influenced the likes of Boy George, Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons, and the Scissor Sisters. On New Year’s Eve of 1994, Leigh Bowery died of AIDS related conditions. He was 33 years old.
Sylvester James, who generally went by just his first name, was a disco-era star who had hits in the late ’70s with “Dance (Disco Heat),” “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” and “Can’t Stop Dancing.” Born and raised by a music-loving family in Los Angeles, James was encouraged to sing at an early age. During the late ’60s, he moved to San Francisco where he became part of the gay and transgender entertainment community, with most notably, the Cockettes. Over the next few years, James began making a name for himself throughout the Bay area and in 1977, he signed with Fantasy Records, who teamed him up with legendary Motown producer, 
Jacques Morali was a French record producer who achieved fame and fortune by creating, producing, and branding the Village People who were arguably the flash point of disco’s crossover during the mid ’70s. While working in a record store during the early ’70s, he began to hear the early records of dance and what would soon become disco, and immediately fell in love with it. He moved to the United States and found work at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia so he could be near the Philly Sound he had learned about in France. While there, he co-produced or co-wrote songs for several albums by the Ritchie Family. While visiting a gay disco in New York’s Greenwich Village, Morali took note of the various manly male stereotypes, and thus the concept of the Village People was born. He put the group together and landed a deal with Casablanca Records. Between 1977 and 1979, he produced a string of hits with the Village People. That list includes such disco staples as “Macho Man,” “YMCA,” and “In The Navy.” During the late ’70s and early ’80s, he produced nearly 70 disco albums. But soon the disco craze would die as fast and as hard as it had burst on to the scene, and Morali all but disappeared from the music industry. Jacques Morali was 44 when he died of AIDS on November 15, 1991.
