'Let's take a shower, said a shower together, yes / I'll wash your body and you'll wash mine, yeah / Rub me down in some, some hot oils, baby / And I'll do the same thing to you' ''Turn Off the Lights' by Teddy Pendergrass Growing up in Philadelphia in the 1990s, I listened to soul singer-turned-R&B sex symbol Teddy Pendergrass and other artists who defined the Sound of Philadelphia. Now, as a professor of ethnic studies, I teach students about the influence of Black artists on modern pop culture. Pendergrass would have turned 75 this year. Although he died in 2010, he helped usher in an era of music that brought both disco and more mature, sensual music to the mainstream ' and I see his influence in a number of pop and R&B hits today. He dropped out of Thomas Edison High School in the 11th grade to pursue a music career, and he recorded 'Angel With Muddy Feet' in 1967. The song was not a commercial success, so he focused on playing drums for a number of local bands. In 1970,...
learn more
