The drummer who became the voice of Philadelphia soul

The group began life as The Charlemagnes and took the name The Blue Notes in 1954, with Franklin Peaker, Bernard Williams, Roosevelt Brodie, Jesse Gillis Jr. and Harold Melvin in the line-up. Success was slow: “My Hero” was a minor hit for Val-ue Records in 1960, and “Get Out (and Let Me Cry)” an R&B hit for Landa in 1965. Williams left to start The Original Blue Notes, and Melvin brought in a new lead singer, John Atkins.

The turn came in 1970, when the group recruited Teddy Pendergrass as drummer for its backing band. He had sung with a Philadelphia group called The Cadillacs, and when Atkins quit that year he became lead singer. In 1972 the line-up of Melvin, Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, Lawrence Brown and Lloyd Parks signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label. Jerry Cummings replaced Parks that year.

Over the next four years the group scored a run of R&B and pop hits, including million-selling singles and albums. “If You Don't Know Me by Now”, from 1972, reached number 1 on the R&B chart and number 3 on the pop chart, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA that November. “The Love I Lost” was an R&B number one and a pop number 7. In 1975 they turned to socially conscious songs with “Wake Up Everybody” and “Bad Luck”; the latter holds the record for the longest run at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, 11 weeks.

“Don't Leave Me This Way”, a Gamble and Huff song, was a number-one hit on the US pop chart in 1976. The Blue Notes' own version on the Wake Up Everybody album was not issued as a US single at the time, yet it became their biggest hit in Britain, reaching number 5 in 1977. Despite Melvin's top billing, Pendergrass was the most famous member. The group kept recording and performing until Melvin's death in 1997, and its remaining members reunited for Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2015 and 2017.