"Teddy Bear" Passes

"Back in those days, the ladies called him "Teddy Bear", as he held "women only" concerts, across the country, where many in the audiences took off their panties and threw them at him while he sang on stage.”




Dear friends,

Philadelphia is known for many things, both great and far-from-great. However, few places can boast of the music legends who have either come from or through that town. Teddy Pendergrass was a Philadelphia legend. He lived and died that way.

During the early-Eighties, Teddy's former employer the late Harold Melvin and myself were buddies. Of course, this was long after Pendergrass had established Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes as a premier R & B group.

In any case, I remember those days during and after the senseless "accident" that caused Teddy to briefly disappear from the music scene.

Initially, it was forecast that he wouldn't live very long. As fate would have it, I can only imagine that medical professionals were pleasantly surprised that he showed them to be wrong. Meanwhile, and unfortunately, for some time now, Philadelphia has had the highest incidence of cancer amongst its citizenry than any of the other large cities in our country. That's what got Teddy colon cancer - not complications from the auto accident that he was in over 25 years ago. And so goes one of his hits with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, "Bad Luck".

On the link below is a short chronology of his life. Back in those days, the ladies called him "Teddy Bear", as he held "women only" concerts, across the country, where many in the audiences took off their panties and threw them at him as he sang on stage. He was "The Man" in those days, for sure.

So long! - “Teddy Bear”.

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100114_Singer_Teddy_Pendergrass_dies_at_59.html