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.
You're My Latest Greatest Inspiration
Teddy Pendergrass Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've seen so many things
But none quite as lovely as you
More beautiful than the Mona Lisa
Worth more than gold
And my eyes have pleasure to behold
And my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
Things never looked clearer
Peace within never felt nearer
My burden's gone, it's turned to a song
Tender as a baby's touch
I needed you, oh, so much
At last, the load's so light
You're my latest and my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
I plan to give you all that I have
I'll be everything
Everything you think I am
You make life a joy to live
Yes I'm blessed
Yes I'm thankful
Just to know you
I've been so many places
I've seen so many things
But none quite as delectable as you
More beautiful than the Mona Lisa
Worth more than gold
And my eyes have the pleasure to behold
You're my latest
Tell you you're my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
You inspire me, inspire me
Don't you know it, my latest, my greatest inspiration?
You just keep on liftin' me up, now (higher, higher)
You inspire me
I want you to keep on liftin' me up (higher)
All right (higher)
You inspire me,
You inspire me, inspire me (higher)
You, you, you you you
You you
Keep on liftin' me up (higher)
All right (higher)
All right, all right
(Higher, higher)
See it's all about you
It's all about you
Ain't nobody, nobody in this world (higher)
Can never take the place of you (higher)
In the song, "You're My Latest My Greatest Inspiration," Teddy Pendergrass sings about his love for someone, who he considers his latest and greatest inspiration. He tells us that he has been so many places and seen so many things, yet the person he loves remains more beautiful than the Mona Lisa and worth more than gold. The person he loves inspires him in a way that nothing else has, they uplift him and make everything seem clearer. He considers the person he loves to be his latest source of inspiration and the greatest they've ever encountered. The relationship has made his burdens feel lighter than before and has brought him peace within.
Teddy Pendergrass wrote this song with his frequent collaborator and producer, Reggie Lucas, who also co-wrote hits for Madonna and Miles Davis. The song was released in 1980, and it quickly became a hit for Pendergrass, reaching number 4 on the R&B charts. The song was so popular that it became the title track of his album, which was released in the same year, and it eventually went gold.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been so many places
I have traveled to many different places
I've seen so many things
I have experienced many different things
But none quite as lovely as you
But you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen
More beautiful than the Mona Lisa
You are more beautiful than one of the most famous works of art in the world
Worth more than gold
You are more valuable than the most precious metal
And my eyes have pleasure to behold
My eyes are happy just looking at you
You're my latest
You are my most recent
And my greatest
And my best
My latest, my greatest inspiration
You inspire me more than anyone or anything else right now
Things never looked clearer
My vision of things has never been clearer
Peace within never felt nearer
I feel more at peace than I ever have before
My burden's gone, it's turned to a song
My worries and problems have disappeared and turned into a happy tune
Tender as a baby's touch
Your touch is as gentle as a newborn baby's
I needed you, oh, so much
I needed you more than anything
At last, the load's so light
Finally my problems don't weigh me down as much
I plan to give you all that I have
I want to give you everything I possibly can
I'll be everything
I will be everything you want or need
Everything you think I am
I will be the person you already believe me to be
You make life a joy to live
You bring so much happiness into my life
Yes I'm blessed
I feel very fortunate
Yes I'm thankful
I am very grateful
Just to know you
Simply knowing you brings me joy
Tell you you're my greatest
I want to tell you that you are my best
You inspire me, inspire me
You motivate and encourage me
Don't you know it, my latest, my greatest inspiration?
Do you understand how much of an inspiration you are to me?
You just keep on liftin' me up, now (higher, higher)
You keep making me feel more confident and positive
I want you to keep on liftin' me up (higher)
I hope you continue to inspire and motivate me
See it's all about you
Everything revolves around you
Ain't nobody, nobody in this world (higher)
There is nobody in this world
Can never take the place of you (higher)
Who could ever replace you in my heart?
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Leon Huff, Kenny Gamble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BillKnighton1
I've been so many places
I've seen so many things
But none quite as lovely as you
More beautiful than the Mona Lisa
Worth more than gold
And my eyes have pleasure to behold
You're my latest, and my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
Things never looked clearer
Peace within never felt nearer
My burden's gone, it's turned into a song
Tender as a baby's touch
I needed you, oh, so much
At last, the load's so light
You're my latest, and my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
I plan to give you all that I have
I'll be everything
Everything you think I am
You make life a joy to live
And I'm thankful
Yes, I'm blessed just to know you
I've been so many places
I've seen so many things
But none quite as delectable as you
More beautiful than the Mona Lisa
Worth more than gold
And my eyes have the pleasure just to behold
You're my latest, tell you you're my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
You inspire me, inspire me
Don't you know it, my latest, my greatest inspiration?
You just keep on liftin' me up, now
(Higher, higher)
You inspire me, I want you to keep on liftin' me up
(Higher, higher)
I want you to keep on liftin' me up
(Higher, higher)
Alright, see, you got me, you got me doin' things
(Higher)
I've never done before
(Higher)
See, you inspire me, you inspire me
Don't you know I love you, girl?
(Higher, higher)
You, you, you, you keep on liftin' me
(Higher, higher)
Higher, higher, higher, you, you
You keep on liftin' me, yeah
(Higher, higher)
Higher, oh now
(Higher)
You keep on liftin' me
(Higher)
You keep on liftin' me
You know what you do to me
Come on, keep on liftin' me
(Higher, higher)
Higher
@billshank6266
This song is the most beautiful song ever, and when the background singers start hitting that “higher” line, it just goes to another level of beautiful. Music is so powerful
@maymzila
Beutifull
@MitchHennessy
Yes Indeed
@mikestover417
What Bill said
@JimmyDaDon666
That’s one of the only reason I love listen to this song beside the lyrics!
@pamelasims9899
Omg it is ❤❤
@mlw5868
My daughter song this song to me at my 50th birthday party this weekend. It was amazing 👏 😍
@juneloko98
Sung* oG but anyways you got a good family there! I hope we all get to live as long as you have and also experience a Loving Family moment how you have OG .
@macadon041
Beautiful
@cutiepatootie4521
Sounds like you have a wonderful daughter