Atribute to Teddy Pendergrass

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Friday January 22, 2010 00:00

According to Wikipedia, TP was born Theodore DeReese Pendergrass on March 26, 1950, and died on January 13. Like most African-Americans of his time, he was brought up in a Christian family and 'the church was his initiation for talent and eventual success'.

I was introduced to this icon a long time ago by my aunt Bosaitseweng Kebonang who used to talk about the 'black American' singer who was such a good performer that young women always threw their underwear on stage whenever he performed. Naturally,  I was curious about the fact that the artist could make people or in this case young women lose their minds and I thought he was a great artist to be able to do that. My aunt knew so much about TP that she was one of those saddened when the man got confined to a wheelchair after a horrific car accident that left his spinal cord paralysed on March 18, 1982.

As I grew older, I was able to listen to the legend and perhaps one of the first Teddy Pendergrass songs I ever listened to was If You Don't Know Me By Now, which he performed with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. This is one song that most lovers of soul music would know. Here in Botswana, it is likely to be played on local radio stations more especially RB 1 and Gabz FM on any given Sunday evening.

TP's music has a way of taking one out of this world of sorrow to a blissful world or Shangri La, as the Chinese call it. It has this effect that makes one fall in love even if he or she is single. TP was an expert in taking one from reality to an imaginary land of never-ending happiness.

While in the past I was contented with listening to TP's songs on radio, sometime last year a visit to Game City took me to a music store and the visit ended with me buying his Love Power: The Ultimate Collection, a double disc album that is loaded with some of his greatest hits.

Disc one of the album contains hits like Love TKO, In My Time, Hold Me, Voodoo, Stay With Me, This Is The Last Time, So Sad a Song and of course If You Don't Know Me By Now. The second one has beautiful songs such as Joy, Glad To Be Alive, Don't Keep Wasting My Time, Turn Off the Lights and Through the Falling Rain.

Soon after buying the album, I lapped up every song until I was contented. I must say that although I am in love with almost every TP song Hold Me, a duet which he sang with Whitney Houston who was relatively unknown then, remains my favourite. Other  TP songs that simply take me to another world include In My Time, If You Don't Know Me By Now and Through The Falling Rain. When I felt I had indulged enough, I let the cat out of the bag that I had and my supervisor Maureen Odubeng immediately borrowed it. It has since emerged that Odubeng is even a bigger fan.  I would safely assume that my other boss, Tshireletso Motlogelwa, who was equally astounded by TP's passing, is also a great fan.

Although TP was not mourned as much as other music icons like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, he remains one of the greatest artists of our lifetime and death has robed us of a legend. I will forever be thankful to my aunt for introducing me to this legend.