Tops From Teddy

The career of Philadelphia soul great Teddy Pendergrass, who died Wednesday, had three distinct phases.

As the drummer for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Pendergrass stepped to the mike and sang many of the defining hits of the Gamble and Huff 1970s Philly soul era, from "The Love I Lost" to "If You Don't Know Me By Now."

Then, he flew solo as libidinous "Teddy Bear," a virile, tenderhearted superstar who know how to growl and was ready to cuddle.

Last, he was the wheelchair-bound soul man whose life was transformed by a 1982 car accident but who could still score platinum with 1984's Love Language and continued to tour and record into the 2000s.

For anyone who wants to delve deeper into Pendergrass' music, here's my Teddy Top Five, in chronological order.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (Harold Melvin and the Blues Notes, 1970). Pendergrass announced his arrival on this 1970 debut, applying his rough-hewn vocal attack to such iconic silky soul moments as "Miss You" and If You Don't Know Me By Now."

Wake Up Everybody (Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, 1975). The Pendergrass classic on the last album he made with Melvin is the title cut, a righteous call to social consciousness. The under-heard treasure is "Don't Leave Me This Way," another TP tour de force that was later a hit for Thelma Houston.

Life Is a Song Worth Singing (Teddy Pendergrass, 1978). This was Pendergrass' second solo album, and the first to top the R&B charts. The title track, written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, seems almost to prophesy Pendergrass' post-1982 paralysis. "You're a fool if you think you're helpless," he growls over a disco-era groove. "You control what you do with your life." He gets busy on "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose," and proffers a back rub, and more, on the string-sweetened "Close the Door."

TP (Teddy Pendergrass, 1980). The overwhelming vocal showcase on TP is "Can't We Try," a saccharine power ballad that Pendergrass elevates with unrestrained melodramatic intensity. There's also the hit duet with Stephanie Mills, "Feel the Fire." And this is where Pendergrass delivered his ultimate lovelorn baby-making ballad, "Love T.K.O.," sung with sublime, relaxed, raspy-voiced emotionalism.

Joy (Teddy Pendergrass 1988). This album is dated by its late-'80s electronic drum sound, but it marked a significant achievement for Pendergrass. It was his final chart-topping disc, and the title cut became a signature, celebratory song for him, which he sang during his final performance at the Kimmel Center in 2007. The brawny force-of-nature voice is no longer so rugged, but Pendergrass remains an assured, skillful vocalist who had learned to do more with less.