R&B Legend Teddy Pendergrass Dies at 59

Soul legend Teddy Pendergrass has passed away at the age of 59.

The five-time Grammy nominee, who achieved success in the 1970s and ’80s, died Wednesday (Jan. 13) at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Philadelphia. The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father had difficulty recovering after undergoing colon cancer surgery eight months ago.

Pendergrass had survived a devastating car accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the waist down, yet he returned to the stage in 1985, performing from a wheelchair at Live Aid.

Some of his best-known hits include “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, “Love T.K.O.,” “Close the Door,” and “Hold Me,” a duet with Whitney Houston.

“To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,” his son told The Associated Press. “He will live on through his music.”