Philadelphia Weekly

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Like the smooth sound of Gamble and Huff or John Oates' mustache, Teddy Pendergrass' gruff but silky voice will be forever stamped on the face of Philadelphia music.

He was the first black artist to see five consecutive records go platinum. He's been nominated for five Grammies. He's written some of the sexiest songs in history.

But in 1982 Pendergrass saw his unquestionable luster dulled by a near fatal car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. In the years since he's started the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, a nonprofit organization which helps those with spinal cord injuries live their best lives.

This weekend Pendergrass will take part in a star-studded night called Teddy 25 at the Kimmel Center, where Patti LaBelle, Musiq, Bill Cosby and others will pay him tribute while he thanks everyone who's helped him in the years since his accident.

Last week PW spoke with an exuberant and wise Pendergrass about the show, his Alliance and the fact that his name rhymes with "bend her ass."

Teddy 25 is a pretty remarkable event. How excited are you about this thing?

"Overly excited. I'm jumping out of my skin. It's an opportunity for me to say thank you to all the people who've helped me over the past 25 years, a chance to let them know how much I appreciate them. I've wanted to thank them for so long, but the years go by and you don't get a chance to say what you want to say. Now I get that chance. I'm also humbled by the artists who want to pay tribute to me by singing covers of my songs."

What have you learned about music after working in it for three decades?

"Music evolves. It changes. That's what's interesting about it. Creativity is creativity, be it good, bad or different."

In R. Kelly's new radio hit "I'm a Flirt," rapper T-Pain says people sometimes refer to him as "Teddy Bend Her Ass." Is that good, bad or different?

"Ha. Obviously I've influenced a lot of people and that's a good thing. But no, I think it's nice. Other people influenced me, other people influenced those people, so it's all a give back. Before you know your future, you gotta know your history. It's like a relay race--you hand off the baton."

Speaking of history, your song "Turn off the Lights" was so ahead of its time sexually. Do you feel you opened the door for other artists to be more frank about sex?

"Marvin's 'Sexual Healing' opened the gate. 'Sexual Healing' and 'I Want You'--all those songs Marvin sang were much more explicitthan mine. Mine were tame. Mine were romantic. With me, it's not what I said--it's what I didn't say. 'Rub you down with hot oil' [from 'Turn off the Lights'] doesn't really say anything except 'rub you down with hot oil.' It doesn't say where or what I was gonna do or how she's dressed--none of that. Mine were calm. I think some things are better left unsaid; it leaves room for imagination and romance."

What compelled you to start the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance?

"When I was injured, one of the things I was concerned about was how I was going to be able to continue to earn a living. I was living in a huge estate on 14 acres of land. I was a premier black artist living the life of a premier artist. So my thought was, 'Okay, not only do I not know what I'm going to do tomorrow or what's going to happen the next minute, how am I going to pay for all this stuff?' All these questions came up. I needed to be reeducated. After I began to get myself together, I recognized there was no real support out there for people with spinal cord injuries that can get them back into society.

"Over the years I've learned to bridge that gap, and at this point everything is fine. My idea was to establish an organization that can give people opportunities they need, a resource center. You can't stop an accident, a trip or a fall. But what you can do is remember that after you fall down, you can get up. There are hundreds of thousands of people living with spinal cord injuries out there, and 10,000 or 11,000 new cases each year. A good number of them are unemployed, on social security, in a nursing home or in someone's house not knowing what to do. That's a large population of people that can be wage-earning, tax-paying, productive members of society. I'm trying to be that link to help people live their best lives regardless of their injuries. Disability doesn't mean inability."

Whose idea was the Ladies Only tours? Such a smart idea.

"Ha. Well, I'm a smart guy."

Teddy 25 Sun., June 10, 4pm. $35-$150. With Mo'Nique, Bill Cosby, Patti LaBelle + more. Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce sts. 215.893.1999. www.kimmelcenter.org