My Greatest Inspiration

R&B Legend, Teddy Pendergrass died today at age 59 of cancer. I am so deeply sadden right now that I’m tearing up writing this and holding back from bawling. To me, TP had a way of taking songs and lyrics and putting them directly in your mind, heart, and soul for you to relate to. TP was Passion above his poetry. Who remembers hearing him sing and how he would pour it out? When he said, “Come here BABY!! Lay your head next mine!,” you felt it.

TP was the singer of my life, it seemed to me. Teddy Pendergrass, was more than apart of who I am. I played Teddy Pendergrass to let him sing how I was feeling. I felt like TP wrote many songs about me or how I was feeling at the time, more than any other Artist. He sang songs on how to love a woman.

He was such a therapist or relationship expert. Remember he sang, “Its so good, loving somebody, and that somebody loves you back” and then said “I’m talking about a 50/50 love, yeah I’m talking about a 50/50 love, yeah”

Even as a kid Teddy’s music had a power and strength I could listen too. I got to understand TP more as an insecure teenager, battling depression and emotional issues, I can remember playing Teddy Pendergrass’s LOVE TKO after a heartbreak I had with a girlfriend. It brought me healing.

It was Back when I was a newly wed with my exwife, I remember coming home every night and the wife was playing “Pretty Flower”. It was her favorite song. We would make love to the whole CD many times.

I remember being at my job, I worked as a Mail Room Clark, we played Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Greatest Hits CD. When“Miss You” came on, most of us grown men would be singing, “ooooh I, Oooooh I, miss you, miss you, miss you” in the mail room. LOL

I’m not going to end this with saying, “Miss you” to Teddy. I’m gonna say to you TP, in your own words, from another of my favorite TP songs: “You are latest and my Greatest Inspiration…you keep lifting me up....higher"

Thank you Teddy. I love you
CP