Teddy Pendergrass is one of those artists whose work I have seemingly always been aware of. From the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes classic “If You Don’t Know My By Now” to his solo work, Teddy was one of the most iconic soul singers whose identity was wrapped up in one word: LOVE. But it wasn’t until I started getting into disco music where my love for Teddy really began to develop.

Many of the uptempo cuts by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes that appeared on their releases on Philadelphia International were tunes that were instrumental to the development of what would be called “disco”. Classics like “Bad Luck” and “Don’t Leave Me This Way” were later remixed by Tom Moulton for the Philadelphia Classics album that set in wax the contributions of PIR that had defined disco music so heavily that Salsoul Records began by stealing much of the PIR rhythm section MFSB to back their artists. Other songs like “The Love I Lost” were anthems all the way through the 80′s and were influential in creating what would become house music, especially when edited by deejays such as Ron Hardy in Chicago.

Teddy’s own solo career featured a great many dance classics, from “The More I Get, The More I Want” and “You Can’t Hide From Yourself” which appeared on his debut eponymous album (pictured above) to later joints like “Only You” and slow grooving “Love TKO”. Even after he was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in 1982, he continued to record and perform. He will be missed, though his music will live on forever.

Here’s some YouTube links for some of the most classic Teddy Pendergrass jams: