![]() In addition to his blossoming career, Pendergrass had a growing family in the early 1970s. mixing the styles of gospel and blues shouters." He combined an "earthy, sexual insistence on the more aggressively paced pieces with mellow, moodier vocal work on ballads." In their Encyclopedia of Rock, Dave Hardy and Phil Laing described Pendergrass's singing on Blue Notes hits as "tough, powerful. Within two years of touring with Harold and the Blue Notes, Pendergrass transitioned from drums to lead vocals. The group played a continuous string of bookings and managed to straddle two different worlds that Pendergrass described in Truly Blessed as "the classier white supper clubs and hotel lounges and the small black clubs and bars frequented by pimps and players." Pendergrass began touring with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes as their drummer, just like he had with Little Royal, but this job was a step above anything he had done before. Pendergrass's big break finally happened in 1969 when he was discovered by a singer, Harold Melvin, who was looking for a few singers and a band to rebuild his recently disassembled lineup. He went on the road as the drummer for Little Royal, but this engagement was short-lived. One summer when he was waiting tables in Atlantic City, he got hired for his first professional music gig. ![]() After his sentence was over, Pendergrass worked hard to catch up on his studies, but when he failed the eleventh grade, he decided to drop out of high school to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.ĭuring the first couple of years after high school, Pendergrass held a number of jobs, ranging from picking peaches to driving a sixteen-foot truck. Additionally, he spent 4 months at the Youth Study Center in Philadelphia, his conviction for a robbery that he never actually committed. Even though he had always excelled in school, he started skipping classes to drink cheap wine with his friends. Over the course of the next few years, Pendergrass's adolescent life took a turn for the worse. When Pendergrass saw Jackie Wilson's performance send female patrons into a state of hysteria, he resolved to become a singer. It was because of his proximity to the Uptown that Pendergrass was able to witness the acts of Motown stars like Little Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and the Temptations. When Pendergrass was 13, he and his mother moved to what Pendergrass noted in Truly Blessed as "a fateful location.a few blocks from Philly's great R&B mecca: the Uptown Theater." Paralleling the legendary Apollo Theater of Harlem, the Uptown was one of several venues at the time that primarily showcased black entertainers. Drumming came naturally to him he could sit down and play any rhythm that popped into his head, no matter how intricate or fast. Pendergrass also discovered his passion and talent for the drums by fooling around on the bandstand at Sciolla's, a supper club that employed his mom. He performed songs like "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" as part of the Philadelphia City Boys' Choir and familiarized himself with R&B and rock & roll by watching American Bandstand. When Pendergrass became old enough for school, his appreciation for music began to broaden. ![]() By the age of three, he was singing gospel selections in front of the congregation of Glad Tidings. Pendergrass's religious upbringing introduced him to his first genre of musical influence: gospel. and sometimes most of the day on Sundays." Glad Tidings was more than a place of worship, though it was a refuge, isolated from the North Philadelphia ghetto in which it was located. In his memoir Truly Blessed, Pendergrass recalls attending services "up to six days a week. The two of them made the Glad Tidings Tabernacle Church their second home. Ida raised Pendergrass, her only child, in a very religious household. The young Pendergrass never knew what he was missing, however, because he and his mom had the support of a large extended family. He was raised solely by his mother, Ida Pendergrass, because his father Jesse left the family prior and was then murdered when his son was only twelve years old. Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was born on Maat Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson Hospital.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |