The Raw Addict 1.24.10: “For the last time---My name is NOT ‘Harold’!!!”
Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 01.24.2010
TEDDY, Part 1: Teddy Pendergrass and his years with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.
"Teddy Pendergrass was one of the greatest artists that the music industry has ever known, and there hasn't been another one since."--Gamble & Huff
I've always wanted to do a feature on Philly International and all its artists, similar to the one I did on Solar Records years ago. I grew up on this label and its sound. So many great artists have passed through the halls of that label and given us many timeless hits and masterpieces. Pretty much everything about it was incredible, and I am blessed to have parents that put me on to this music early on.
So naturally, I was blown away when I find out that one of my all-time favorites had passed away because of a colon cancer operation gone wrong. When Philly International heads Gamble & Huff said "there hasn't been another one since", that wasn't hyperbole--that was the God-honest TRUTH. You look at the Clear Channel-Mandated Urban Music of the past 20-25 years (which I refuse to dignify by even calling it R&B) and all you hear is a bunch of little boys wailing incessantly while trying to be the next so-and-so, whether it be the next Michael Jackson, the next Marvin Gaye, the next Donny Hathaway, the next Prince, or the next whoever.
Don't worry, this whole thing won't be a huge rant on today's Clear Channel Mandated Urban Music. But hey, I came from a time when male vocalists sound like MEN, so I just had to let that out. Peace to Jahiem, Anthony Hamilton, and the late Gerald Levert for putting at least SOME grown voices on the radio.
With my mini-rant out of the way, let's get started…
TEDDY, Part 1
It all started with a struggling group called The Charlemagnes, which was headed by Harold Melvin. Like a lot of struggling groups at the time, they cut a handful of songs that didn't go anywhere as they went through various line-up changes. In 1954, they would changed their name to THE BLUE NOTES, until group member Bernard Wilson would leave to form his own group called The ORIGINAL Blue Notes, prompting Harold to change his group name again to Harold Melvin AND THE Blue Notes. Of course, adding "AND THE" in between any group name often came with bad consequences, which we'll see later. Under the new moniker, they hopped from label to label, while they cut a few more songs throughout the 60's like "Get Out" (which had John Adkins on lead duties):
As the 1970's hit, Harold would bring in a member of The Cadillacs to fill in the role of drummer in the Blue Notes' backing band. That man was Teddy Pendergrass. Ted dropped out of High School during his junior year for a chance to get in the music business. Like many, he would spend years paying all kinds of dues in the music business until that one big opportunity came…which would come soon enough. John Adkins would quit the group and leave Harold without a lead vocalist. As luck would have it, Harold would overhear his recently-hired drummer singing his heart out. And just like that, the empty lead-singer spot was filled.
Now that they have a good combination of singers, all they need now is to find a label that would give them half a chance.
Enter Philadelphia International Records.
Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had spent their early career playing in a little band called the Romeos playing at local clubs and opening for Chubby Checker. Soon, they started writing songs and developing that synergy that would drive their future careers. One of the songs they worked on was "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", which would become a hit for Dionne Warwick and later as part of the Supremes/Temptations colab. They would jump from label to label, working as songwriters and producers. They would also colab with former Impressions member Jerry Butler for a string of hits like "Only The Strong Survive", "Never Give You Up", and "Hey, Western Union Man", all while honing their songwriting and production style, which would develop into what is often called The Philly Sound.
Also, during the 60's, they would make attempts at running their own record labels, with the indy label Excel Records (later renamed Gamble Records), with little success. As the 70's rolled in, they realized that having an associated label (a label headed by a larger corporation), as opposed to an indy label, is the way to go. In 1972, they would sign with CBS Records (yes, CBS had its own label) to form Philadelphia International Records.
"Harold [and] the Blue Notes were a Philly institution since the ‘50s and they had different members over time. We knew Harold, who was trying to get a new record deal in the early ‘70s, and thought he had a nice smooth crooner voice, but we felt the group needed another singer with power. I was rehearsing one day with Teddy who was the drummer for the group, and told Gamble that this guy is something, he can really sing. And that was it. Teddy had it all - so fresh and green, a real natural talent. Those first songs he did in the studio, his voice sounded like a razor over the mic!"--Huff
The group was signed to Philly International in 1972---and hit paydirt right out the starting gate!
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES
(1972)
[NOTE: This album was originally entitled I MISS YOU, but for some reason, they would change it to a self-titled album in the second printing.]
Gamble & Huff wrote most of the songs on this debut album with the Dells in mind, but the deal didn't fall through. Since Teddy had a similar voice as the Dells' lead vocalist, they gave him a shot with it. The result…
UGH---must not joke on outfits...UGH!
After years of struggle in the 50's and 60's, the group had finally gotten their first major hit, "If You Don‘t Know Me By Now", thanks to Ted's lead vocals and the impeccable songwriting of Gamble & Huff. The song is about a man telling his woman, look--we both have faults, but we need to work this relationship out. We've been together way to long to be fussing all the time. This song resonated with a lot of people…after all, relationships aren't the easiest things to hold together, so this is something that anyone can related to.
Another song that made an impact was "I Miss You", which is one of the greatest beg-and-plead songs of all time. It's about a man swearing up and down about how he's changed and how much he wants his girl back. In a song like this, especially a song that is 8 MINUTES LONG, you have to EMOTE like crazy! As far as that goes, Ted gave 110% in the booth, sounding like he's about to kill himself if she doesn't take him back. Meanwhile, Harold, doing monologue duties, sounds like the saddest man on the planet ("how‘s my son…does he ask about me?!"), hoping that this wifey will take him back just because he hit the LOTTO! This song is a classic and worth all 8 minutes and some change.
Then there's "Be For Real", a 7-minute drama that features what is perhaps one of the greatest monologue in the history of recorded music! After having to put up with his girl bragging about all the money he makes, having all the fly wears, and how everybody else ain't got shit ‘cuz they‘re from the projects, Ted had all he could take and decides to put her in her place (Sit down…Nah--DON'T SAY NOTHIN'!!!!") From there, he proceeds to take this girl straight to CHURCH, screaming on her for looking down on people and forgetting the times when no one wanted to talk to her! Sometimes you have to put your foot down. To say that they don't make songs like this anymore is an understatement, mainly because some people will confuse it with male chauvinism or some other bullshit.
There are a few other choice cuts, such as the slow, somber "Yesterday I Had The Blues" (another 7-minute drama), as well as "Ebony Woman" and "Let Me Into You World". In the case of the latter two songs, the writing may be a little on the nutty side ("The experts say/in the Milky Way/There's a pot of gold there/every day/and that pot of gold is YOU"?! WTF?!?), but thanks to the beautiful arrangements, at least the songs SOUND good.
BLACK & BLUE
(1973)
After the success of the debut, they stuck with some of the script the second time around. However, this time, they eased up on the long dramas (the longest songs are only 6 minutes and some change, as opposed to 7-8 minutes like last album's standouts). Sadly, the cover has them decked out in the same incredibly TACKY outfits they had in the above SOUL TRAIN video (thankfully, Teddy got rid of that perm).
For some reason, The Blue Notes try to revisit the 50's with the intro, "Cabaret", which comes off even tackier than those aforementioned stage outfits. I guess this proves the old saying, "You can't go home again"…though considering how badly the group struggled during the 50's, one has to wonder why they would ever revisit it, especially with a horrible intro like this. NEXT.
"The Love I Lost" is a song about a man saddened by a splitting relationship that he had high hopes for:
I can remember planning
Building my whole world around you
And I can remember hoping
That you and I could make it on through
But something went wrong
We loved each other
We just couldn't get along
The song became another Blue Notes staple, with Ted doing his thing, bringing a sense of sorrow to those lyrics. Then you have "Satisfaction Guaranteed (or take your love back!)" (UGH--UGH!!!), where Ted gets to cut loose with a "I got that good love, girl--you didn‘t know" type of song, a change of pace from the usual angsty ballads. Harold FINALLY gets some spotlight in his own record with "Weak For You". Harold was never a bad singer, as he proves here. However, it's obvious that Gamble & Huff wanted someone who's vocals had a little more POWER, thus the reason why Teddy got most of the time in the booth.
This time around, they got some songwriting help from the late great dynamic duo of McFadden and Whitehead, who provided choice cuts such as "Is There A Place For Me", and "Concentrate On Me".
With all the success the group had, there was one itty-bitty problem…and this is where the AND THE problem comes in. You see, nobody outside of Philly knew anything about the group's struggling years during the 50's and 60's, or the reason behind going from "The Blue Notes" to "Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes". Instead, people automatically assumed that the most prominent vocalist on both the self-titled debut and BLACK & BLUE was Harold Melvin. This caused lots of confusion, and Ted became bogged down with everybody constantly calling him HAROLD. Because of this, they tried to rectify things with the next album…
TO BE TRUE
(1975)
On this album the group is now referred to as…
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES…featuring Theodore Pendergrass.
They FINALLY got Teddy's name out there, but here's the rub---"featuring" usually implies that the person is making a GUEST APPEARANCE. To say that your most prominent vocalist is merely FEATURED on this album is pretty much selling him short. Harold still had to have top billing just to let people know which Blue Note group this is, fighting a petty battle that he already won (since no one has heard a peep from Bernard Wilson's "Original Blue Notes" since the 60's.) Yep, that's definitely worth stiffing your most prominent vocalist over. Things definitely needed to be worked out, as this will eventually cause some inner conflict that would tear them apart. Thing is, all arguments about who gets top billing is irrelevant if the material isn't up to par, so it's back to the studio!
McFadden & Whitehead came back with FOUR winners here:
You have the amazingly beautiful "Pretty Flower", another song that takes full advantage of Teddy‘s emotive vocals and the MFSB Orchestra‘s musical chops. "All Because Of A Woman" has Teddy in a alcohol-induced depression over a woman that played him. Speaking of misfortunes, "Where Are All My Friends" is an unintentionally hilarious song about a man who used his riches to buy friendship, but when he wound up dead broke, those same people treated him like a wet food stamp. Then there's the smash hit, "Bad Luck", a song about what happens when absolutely NOTHING goes your way. This song also marks the group's first foray into politics and religion in their music:
Early one morning, I got me a paper
Sat down on my living room floor
Opened it up--OPENED IT UP
Opened it up--OPENED IT UP
Guess what I saw…
Saw the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The man said he's gonna give it up…
But he still turned around and left us up po' folks behind
They said they got another man to take his place
But I don't think that he can satisfy the whole human race!!
The only thing that I got that I can hold on
Is MY GOD!! MY GOD!!
JESUS BE WITH ME!! JESUS!!!
GIVE ME OOD LUCK!!!
You see, most of the people who wrote for Philly International were some pretty spiritual brothers, and would often use current events and scripture as inspiration behind a lot of their songs. Gamble & Huff pattern their company after Motown in the respect that this label is a competition between writers and producers (Motown had people like Ashford & Simpson, Holand-Dozier-Holand, and Norman Whitfield). However, one thing they had over Motown was that they were NEVER shy about tackling the issues (remember--Marvin Gaye's WHAT'S GOING ON almost got shelved because Berry Gordy thought all that socially conscious shit wouldn't sell!) If Gamble & Huff wanted to make a hit song based on a bible verse (like The O'Jays' "For The Love Of Money", which was based on 1 Timothy 6:10), they'd do it!
There are two key songs here where Teddy takes a backseat. One is "Hope that We Can Be Together Soon", a classic duet between Harold and the debuting Sharon Paige. This is the only major hit they have had where Ted DOESN'T play a prominent role (other than a few lines). The other is "To Be True", a nice little song that puts all the spotlight squarely on Harold.
WAKE UP EVERYBODY
(1975)
TIMELESS.
That is the only word to describe this song. From the opening keyboard to the slow build-up to the potent lyrics. Everything about this song is a classic. This is one of the greatest message records of all time, and McFadden & Whitehead have outdid themselves. As if that wasn't enough, they also give us "Free To Be Who We Are", which tells us that all the freedoms that we have in this world were given to us by God Almighty. As far as I'm concerned, these two will NEVER be One-Hit-Wonders.
It doesn't hurt that the rest of the album had some classic material in it as well. You have the Discothèque classic "Don't Leave Me This Way", which would become an even bigger hit for Thelma Houston. Then you have classic how-much-I-feel-about-my-baby joints like "Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha" and "Keep On Lovin' You". "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" is an incredibly beautiful bedroom classic which Sharon Paige, Harold Melvin, and Teddy Pendergrass doing lead duties. In my opinion, they should've extended this song to 7 to 8 minutes like their early classics. And the album ends with the sweet Stylistics-style love ballad, "I'm Searching For A Love", which puts the spotlight on Sharon.
While all their Philly International recordings have had lots of classic material, WAKE UP EVERYBODY is the most solid of all their albums. It's a good thing, too…since this line-up would come to an end afterwards.
So…WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?
Remember that memorable scene from the Temptations movie? Well, Teddy took a cue from Mr. Ruffin and tried to get them to change the name of the group to TEDDY PENDERGRASS and The Blue Notes, since he got sick and tired of being called ‘Harold' at every show, but Harold wouldn't budge. The two have been butting heads for a while now, and they've finally gotten to their breaking point around this time. As a result, Teddy would exit the stage, leaving Harold to finish his contractual obligations to Philly International by dropping a greatest hits album called COLLECTOR'S ITEM. Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, as well as Sharon Paige, would leave the label soon afterward.
From there, the group would find itself coming full circle. They were now in the same situation that they were in before hiring Teddy as the lead vocalist and signing to Philly International: a group that hopped from label to label, while making several membership changes and struggling to come up with a hit. Harold brought in David Ebo to take on the Mt. Everest-level task of standing in Teddy's spot. They would sign to ABC Records (which would later fold into MCA Records) and drop a few hits, "Reaching For The World" and "Prayin'". These two were the only songs that came remotely close to their work with Teddy.
Harold & the Blue Notes trudged along throughout the 80's, but with all the changes in the musical landscape, a lot of groups from the 60's and 70's had problems weathering through it. However, even without making a hit in years, Harold was STILL protective of the Blue Notes name. Remember Neil Young's parody song "This Note's For You"? His backing band at the time was originally called THE BLUE NOTES…until Harold sued him and forced him to change it.
The group went straight to the oldies circuit performing their hits until Harold's death on March 24, 1997. The remaining members would rename the group as HAROLD MELVIN'S BLUE NOTES in his honor and continue to perform their classics. The current line-up does a decent job carrying the torch for both Harold and Teddy.
NEXT: TEDDY GOES SOLO!
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MUSICAL OUTRO
Apache, "Do Fa Self"
Ugh. I'm half-way through with my Teddy retrospective and then BAM---someone else that I like dies.
It's sad that he's only remembered for one song, the Q-Tip-produced "Gangsta Bitch", and even sadder that he only made one album and disappeared. Apache was dope. Not only did he drop a tight debut, he has also ghostwritten for some of the Flava Unit, including Queen Latifah. It's fucked up that he didn't come out with anything since.
