PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Legendary soul star Teddy Pendergrass, who continued his recording career after a horrific car accident left him paralyzed in the '80s, has died from colon cancer. He was 59.
Pendergrass passed away Wednesday at a hospital in his native Philadelphia, his son, Teddy Pendergrass II, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. His death came eight months after he underwent surgery to treat the cancer, only to endure "a difficulty recovery," his son said.
The singer shot to fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s, belting out such hits as the Grammy Award-nominated track "If You Don't Know Me By Now." Pendergrass left the group in 1975 to embark on a solo career, where he turned out such classics as "I Don't Love You Anymore," "Close the Door," "Turn off the Lights" and "Love TKO."
Pendergrass nearly died in 1982 when he crashed his Rolls-Royce in Philadelphia. The car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he persevered and released an album the two years later titled Love Language. He also returned to the stage in 1985 when he performed from his wheelchair at Live Aid.
"He never showed me that he was angry at all about his accident," his longtime friend and longtime collaborator, Kenny Gamble, told the Associated Press. "In fact, he was very courageous."
In 1998, the charitable icon launched the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance in an effort to assist fellow victims of spinal cord injuries.
Pendergrass is survived by his wife, son, two daughters and nine grandchildren.
American Superstar sends its condolences to the friends and family of Teddy Pendergrass.
Watch Teddy Pendergrass perform "Close the Door" at the 1993 Apollo Hall of Fame concert.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykp9QSY-feg&feature=related]
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