His initial rise to stardom occurred under tutelage of producer's Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International in 1970. The Blue Notes had hits such as "I Miss You," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody," the two million seller "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and many more. Following personality conflicts between Melvin and Pendergrass, Pendergrass launched a solo career and released hit singles like "The More I Get the More I Want," "Close the Door," "I Don't Love You Anymore," "Turn Off the Lights" and others.
His first solo album was self titled Teddy Pendergrass (1977), followed by Life is a Song Worth Singing (1978), Live! Coast to Coast and Teddy (1979), 1980's TP and the final Philadelphia International Records album It's Time for Love (1981). He also sang a duet with Whitney Houston on "Hold Me," from her self-titled debut album.
Teddy Pendergrass started singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, becoming an ordained minister at ten years old. While attending public school, he sang in the citywide McIntyre Elementary School Choir and in the All-City Stetson Junior High School Choir. A self-taught drummer, Pendergrass had a teen pop vocal group when he was 15.
By his late teens, Pendergrass was a drummer for local vocal group the Cadillacs. In the late 60s, the Cadillacs merged with another more-established group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. In 1970, when the Blue Notes broke up, Melvin, now aware of Pendergrass' vocal prowess, asked him to take the lead singer spot. It's no secret that Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff wanted Marvin Junior of the Dells for their Philadelphia International Records roster. Since the Dells were signed to Chess, they were unavailable. When the gruff'n'ready vocals of Pendergrass came their way, they eagerly signed the group.
Beginning with "I Miss You," a steady stream of hit singles flowed from the collaboration of Pendergrass and Gamble & Huff: "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "The Love I Lost," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody" (#1 R&B for two weeks in 1976), and two gold albums, To Be True and Wake Up Everybody.
Unfortunately, the more success the group had, the more friction developed between Melvin and Pendergrass. Despite the revised billing of the group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass, Pendergrass felt that he wasn't getting enough recognition. Around 1976, Pendergrass left Melvin's Blue Notes and formed his own Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendergrass. Briefly, there was some confusion as to which Blue Notes was which. The resolution came when Pendergrass disbanded his Blue Notes in favor of a solo career and Melvin's group signed a recording contract with Source Records, distributed through ABC Records, scoring a hit with "I Want to Be Your Lover."
Pendergrass signed a new contract with Philadelphia International Records sometime between late 1976 and early 1977. He burst back on the scene with Teddy Pendergrass, a platinum solo debut that included the top-notch singles "I Don't Love You Anymore," "You Can't Hide From Yourself," and "The More I Get the More I Want." Around this time, Pendergrass began to institute his infamous "Ladies Only" concerts. His next three albums went gold or platinum: Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Teddy, and Live! Coast to Coast. The hit single "Close the Door" was used in the film Soup for One, where Pendergrass had a minor role.
The singer received several Grammy nominations during 1977 and 1978, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. He was also in consideration for the lead in the movie biopic The Otis Redding Story. The '70s ended, but Pendergrass kept racking up the hits. TP, his fifth solo album, went platinum in the summer of 1980 off the singles "Turn Off the Lights," "Come Go With Me," "Shout and Scream," "It's You I Love," and "Can't We Try." It's Time for Love gave Pendergrass another gold album in summer 1981, which included the hit singles "Love TKO" and "I Can't Live Without Your Love." However in the UK chart success was limited to a handful of singles peaking just short of the top 40. Amazingly "Love TKO" failed to even grace the top 100.
A 1982 car accident left Pendergrass paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound. After almost a year of physical therapy and counseling, Pendergrass returned to the recording scene, signing a contract with Elektra/Asylum in 1983. His ninth solo album, his Elektra/Asylum debut, Love Language went gold the spring of 1984. Philadelphia International issued two albums of unreleased tracks, This One's for You (1982) and Heaven Only Knows (1983). Other albums included Workin' It Back (1985), Joy (1988, whose title track stayed at #1 in the R&B charts for two weeks), and A Little More Magic (1993). The latter half of '90s found Pendergrass recording for the Surefire/Wind Up label. Truly Blessed (the name of an 1991 Elektra album) is the title of the autobiography Pendergrass co-authored with Patricia Romanowski.
Pendergrass passed away at age 59 on January 13, 2010 from complications following surgery for colon cancer.
Close the door
Teddy Pendergrass Lyrics
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Let me give you what you've been waiting for
Baby, I got so much love to give
I want to give it all to you
Close the door
No need to worry no more
Let's bring this day to a pleasant end
I've waited all day long just to hold you in my arms
And it's exactly like I thought it would be
Me loving you and you loving me
Close the door
Let me rub your back where you say it's sore
Come on get closer and closer
So close to me
Let's get lost in each other
Come here, baby
I've waited all day long just to hold you in my arms
And it's exactly like I thought it would be
Me loving you and you loving me
Close the door, baby
And let me blow your mind
Plenty good lovin' all through the night
And then again and then again
When the morning comes
Come here, woman
Come here baby, let me blow your mind
Let me do what I want to you
Let me do what I want to you
Let me make sweet love to you, baby, uh
Ooh, baby, oh baby, so good, baby
So good, so good, so good, baby, uh
You'll do it to me, I'll do it to you
Come here, baby, lay your head next to mine
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh, ahh, uh
So good, sweet woman
I like the way you make me feel
I like the way you make me feel
So good, so good, so good, so good, baby, uh
Let me do what I wanna do
All I wanna do is make love to you
Let me do what I wanna do
All I wanna do is make love to you
Let me do, do, do, do, do, do, do, uh
The song "Close the Door" by Teddy Pendergrass is about a man expressing his desire to satisfy his woman physically and emotionally. The song's sensual lyrics create a romantic and intimate atmosphere, as the man is asking his woman to close the door and allow him to give her the love she's been waiting for. He wants to show her how much love he has to give and how much he cares for her by touching and massaging her, getting closer and lost in each other.
The lyrics also express the man's anticipation and longing to hold his woman all day long, which speaks to the theme of patience and the importance of cherishing the moments spent with the person you love. The song can be seen as a celebration of love, desire, and intimacy that are essential to human relationships. Overall, the song captures an intimate moment between two lovers who come together as one.
Line by Line Meaning
Close the door
Let's get some privacy so that I can show you my love
Let me give you what you've been waiting for
I know you've been longing for my love, and I'm here to give you all that and more
Baby, I got so much love to give
I have an abundance of love within me, and I want to share it all with you
I want to give it all to you
I'm fully committed to you, and I want you to know that my love is all for you
No need to worry no more
You can let go of all your worries now that you're in my arms
Let's bring this day to a pleasant end
Let's forget all the troubles of the day and enjoy each other's company
Girl, it's me and you now
It is just you and me, and I want to cherish this moment forever
Let me rub your back where you say it's sore
I want to make you feel comfortable and relaxed, let me ease your pain
Come on get closer and closer
I want us to be as close as possible, so that we can feel each other's love
So close to me
I want you to be so close to me that we can't tell where I end, and you begin
Let's get lost in each other
I want us to forget everything else and only focus on each other
And let me blow your mind
Let me give you an experience that will leave you in awe
Plenty good lovin' all through the night
I have so much love to give, and I want to give it to you all night long
And then again and then again
I want to keep making love to you, over and over again
When the morning comes
Even when it's morning, I want us to continue loving each other
Come here, woman
I want you to come to me, so that I can show you how much I love you
Come here baby, let me do what I want to you
I want to explore your body and give you pleasure in any way that I can
Let me make sweet love to you, baby
I want to make love to you in the most gentle and caring way possible
You'll do it to me, I'll do it to you
Let's pleasure each other in equal measure
Come here, baby, lay your head next to mine
I want us to be close and connected, so let's rest our heads next to each other
So good, sweet woman
You are such a wonderful and amazing woman, and I feel blessed to have you in my life
I like the way you make me feel
Being with you brings me so much joy and happiness, and I love it
Let me do what I wanna do
I want to love you in the way that feels most natural to me
All I wanna do is make love to you
My only desire is to express my love to you through physical intimacy
Let me do, do, do, do, do, do, do, uh
Let me give you all of me, and let's enjoy our love together
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Leon Huff, Kenny Gamble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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