Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina.[2][3][4] Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums (a record for any artist at the time). In March 1982, a car crash left Pendergrass paralyzed from the chest down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. Pendergrass died from respiratory failure in January 2010.