R&B KING TEDDY PENDERGRASS DEAD AT 59

Teddy Pendergrass

R&B sex symbol Teddy Pendergrass has, died yesterday at age 59. The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father died at Bryn Mawr Hospital in suburban Philadelphia. The singer underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had “a difficult recovery,’’ his son said. “To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,’’ his son said. Pendergrass grew up in poverty in North Philadelphia. He first became recognized as a singer with the popular Philadelphia group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the late 1970s. He left the band to start a solo career and garnered five platinum albums before suffering a spinal cord injury in the 1982 car accident. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. He spent six months in a hospital but once again returned to record the next year with the album “Love Language.’’ He returned to the stage at Live Aid in 1985, performing from his wheelchair.