Teddy Pendergrass, a leading R&B pop singer of the 70s, died Wednesday of colon cancer. A sex symbol of his era, the velvety-voiced soul singer rose to fame as leader of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Pendergrass staged "Ladies Only' concerts and cranked out mega-hits like "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "You Can't Hide From Yourself" and "The More I Get the More I Want." In 1982, he was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident when his brakes failed. He became a source of inspiration when, despite his disability, he mounted a comeback in 1985 singing the duet "Hold Me" with Whitney Houston. Here's what admirers are saying of him:

• A Pioneering Black Pop Star, writes Veronica Schmidt at the Times of London: "The singer's upward trajectory continued through the Seventies and he became the first black male singer to record five consecutive platinum-selling albums." Paul Lester adds, "Uptempo numbers such as The Love I Lost, Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back), Don't Leave Me This Way, Where Are All My Friends and Bad Luck... established him as a major force on both sides of the Atlantic."

• The Lady's Choice, writes Chuck Miller at the Times Union: "I don't think there was a single girl at my high school, Street Academy of Albany, that didn't have at least one TP album in their record collections, and I suspect every girl tried to go to one of Teddy's 'Ladies Only' concerts if they were held at the Palace Theater or at the Falcons' Nest."

• Had Humble, Gospel Roots, writes Philadelphia Enquirer music critic Dan DeLuca: "Pendergrass was raised by his mother, Ida Epps, in North Philadelphia, and started singing in public at an early age. At age 21/2, he recalled in an interview in 2007 that he stood up on chair at the Glad Tidings Baptist Church and sang 'If I Could Write A Letter To Heaven.' 'I was just a little bitty guy,' he said. 'I had to be seen. Always been my problem.'"

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
John Hudson