This Monday Mixtape is all about my birthday idol Mariah Carey. We all share a birthday with someone…and I do with Mariah! Mariah Carey has been an idol of mine for  long time. We share the same birthday and although she is 4 years older than me..she has always provided me with the inspiration to follow my dreams. From her first song Vision of Love, her incredible voice range has captivated us for yeas. In the beginning of her career, I thought it was odd that she kept releasing “generic” versions of her songs and remixes which were always catchy and filled with the hippest rappers and producers in the business. Of course we can all see now that it was absolute genius from a business sense and it also provided Mariah with a chance to step out of the songstress spotlight, relax and just be herself. As an Aries woman, I commensurated with her very public breakdown and her fight to regain herself and her image. I am very happy for her continued success and I wish her a very happy birthday…which was shared by me!

Track Listing

1. Fantasy (Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Wu-Tang
2. It’s Like That – Mariah Carey ft. Jermaine Dupri
3. Honey (Bad Boy Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Diddy, Mase & The Lox
4. We Belong Together (Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Jadakiss & Styles P
5. Stay The Night – Mariah Carey
6. Shake It Off – Mariah Carey
7. Obsessed – Mariah Carey
8. Loverboy – Mariah Carey
9. Heartbreaker – Mariah Carey ft. Jay Z
10. Say Something -  Mariah Carey ft. Snoop Dogg
11. I’m That Chick – Mariah Carey
12. Emotions – Mariah Carey
13. Touch my body – Mariah Carey
14. Dreamlover -  Mariah Carey
15. Make It Last Forever (Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Joe & Nas
16. Breakdown – Mariah Carey ft. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
17. Don’t Forget About Us (Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
18. Always Be My Baby [Mr. Dupri Mix] – Mariah Carey ft.Da Brat
19. Bye Bye (Remix) – Mariah Carey ft. Jay Z
20. I Don’t Wanna Cry – Mariah Carey
21. Vision Of Love – Mariah Carey

This Monday Mixtape was a special request from one of my listeners. I put up a shoutbox for requests and Ebony so sweetly requested a mix of songs that inspire women. This was perfect timing because my birthday is Saturday and nothing makes an Aries feel better than some pump-me-up music. Some of my choices may leave you like huh? but I must say all of these songs mean a lot to me. I’ll never forget when I went on an interview for Pepsi and my cell phone went off. It was my mother of course, but I was so embarrassed because my ringtone was “Don’t Cha”. My interviewer smiled at me and said, “I love that song too”. I got the job.

Anyway, I hope this mix inspires you. I made it kid friendly because my daughters need to listen to it too! Enjoy!

1. Golden – Jill Scott
2. God In Me (Remix)(Ft. NeYo) – Mary Mary
3. New Attitude – Patti Labelle
4. I’m Every Woman – Whitney Houston
5. Gypsy Woman – Crystal Waters
6. The One – Mary J. Blige ft. Drake
7. Just Fine – Mary J. Blige
8. Glamorous Life – Sheila E
9. Don’t Cha – Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes
10. Poker Face – Lady GaGa
11. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
12. She Works Hard For The Money – Donna Summer
13. Padlock  – Gwen Guthrie
14. Ain’t Nothing Going On (But The Rent) – Gwen Guthrie
15. Young Hearts Run Free – Candi Stanton
16. Spotlight (Remix) – Jennifer Hudson Ft. Young Jeezy
17. Ladies First – Queen Latifah Ft Monie Love
18. Be Optimistic – Sounds of Blackness
19. Hate it Or Love it – Mary J Blige ft.The Game
20. Independent Woman – Destiny’s Child
21. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) – Beyoncé
22. Hate on Me – Jill Scott
23. Miss Independent – Ne-Yo
24. A Rose is Still a Rose – Aretha Franklin
25. Irreplaceable – Beyonce
26. Whats Love Got To Do With It – Tina Turner

1. Love Hangover – Diana Ross
2. It’s My House – Diana Ross
3. Love To Love You Baby – Donna Summer
4. I Feel Love – Donna Summer
5. The Boss – Diana Ross
6. Heaven Knows – Donna Summer
7. McArthur’s Park – Donna Summer
8. I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross
9. On the Radio – Donna Summer
10. Dim All the Lights – Donna Summer
11. Upside Down – Diana Ross
12. Bad Girls – Donna Summer
13. Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
14. Last Dance – Donna Summer
15. Remember Me – Diana Ross
16. Touch Me in the Morning – Diana Ross
17. Good Morning Heartache – Diana Ross
18. Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You Going To)- Diana Ross
19. Aint No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross & the Supremes

Hey Everybody…It’s time for the Monday Mixtape!

Yeah…I know it’s Tuesday. Did I mention that I’m a mom and wife? LOL

I’m also the chick that puts it down twice a week. Show me some love!

This week I’m featuring Luther Vandross.

I miss him so much. I will posting his biography on Thursday, along with a double mixtape of his slow songs. There’s time to submit your favorites in the comments.

Luther Vandross was full of Aries chacteristics. A typical diva, I will have to dig a little to get some of the good stories. Of how he often threw shade to other divas. I’ma have some juicy tidbits LOL

But in listening to all of these Luther songs (that I own), I reveled in the fact that Luther sang about all kinds of love. Secret, repentant, hopeful, expectant and romantic. The strength and conviction in his voice when he sang “Wait For Love” convinced me to do just that.

Enjoy the music of an Aries Man close to my heart. I’ll always miss you Luther!

Track Listing

The Glow Of Love
Searching
Never Too Much
Bad Boy (Having A Party)
Stop To Love
‘Til My Baby Comes Home
I Really Didn’t Mean It
Best Things In Life Are Free (ft. Janet Jackson)
Shine
Give Me The Reason
Love The One You With
Power of Love
Can I Take You Out Tonight
Your Secret Love
If I Didn’t Know Better
Wait For Love

Hey Everybody…It’s time for the Aries Artist Spotlight!!!! Thanks for the birthday wishes (wink @AS)…it’s only 2 weeks from today!!!! I love yall…all of yall…(and yall too. I wish u the best)

This weeks Aries artist is Aretha Franklin. The Queen!

I don’t know about yall…but I am so tired of these gossip sites talking about Aretha and disrepecting her…especially when one of the loudest malcontents looks like a bulldog! For real…I’m sick of it. Like you haven’t worn the same outfit twice because you thought you looked good in it! Like you haven’t paid attention to society and did whatever you felt you wanted to do or worn what you wanted to wear…or even said what you wanted to say!!!

This woman is an icon and m-fers need to respect her as such.

That said…I’m such a stan for Re-Re. I can listen to her songs from the 60′s and 70′s and they apply to my heart in the present time. When Aretha sings gospel, I want to rededicate myself to Christ! When she sings about broken hearts, I am reminded of how it USED to feel. I’m a stan.

So here’s the mix and the Biography is below the break. Enjoy one of our beautiful queens and remember that Aries Divas will tell you just how it is and how it should be. I am no exception to that rule!

Listen Here:

Download Here

Track Listing

Daydreaming
I Say A Little Prayer
Baby I Love You
Spanish Harlem
Rock Steady
Jump To It
Freeway of Love
Who’s Zoomin’ Who
The House That Jack Built
Respect
Since You Been Gone
Think
Chain of Fools
Rose Is Still A Rose (with Lauren Hill)
Oh Me Oh My
I Never Loved A Man
A Natural Woman
Giving Him Something He Can Feel
Sparkle
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Oh Happy Day (with Mavis Staples)
Hurts Like Hell (Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack)

Biography and more Pictures after the break!

Biography

Early life and career
Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee to the Rev. C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister, and Barbara Siggers Franklin. Aretha’s parents had a troubled relationship and they separated when Aretha was six. Siggers died of a heart attack when Franklin was ten. The fourth of five siblings, Aretha’s father’s first pulpit after Memphis was in Buffalo, New York. The family subsequently moved to Detroit, Michigan where Rev. Franklin assumed the pulpit of the New Bethel Baptist Church, and gained national fame as a preacher. Adept at the piano as well as having a gifted voice, Franklin became a child prodigy. By the age of fourteen, she signed a record deal with Checker Records, where her father recorded his sermons and gospel vocal recordings and issued The Gospel Soul of Aretha Franklin in 1956. Her earlier influences included Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson, both of whom spent a lot of time in Aretha’s home.
Teenage pregnancies derailed Franklin’s gospel career when she gave birth to the first and second of her four sons in 1955 and 1957. By the time she returned to singing, instead of performing gospel and inspired by the successes of idols Dinah Washington and Sam Cooke, Aretha decided to secure herself a deal as a pop artist. After being offered contracts from Motown and RCA, Franklin signed with Columbia Records in 1960. Her recordings during that time reflected a jazz influence inspired by Washington and moved away from her gospel roots. Franklin initially scored a few hits on Columbia including her version of “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With A Dixie Melody)”, which peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1961, and the Top 10 R&B hits, “Today I Sing The Blues”, “Won’t Be Long” and “Operation Heartbreak”. However, by the end of 1966, with little commercial success in six years with Columbia and desperate for a sound, she accepted an offer to sign with Atlantic Records. According to Franklin years later, “they made me sit down on the piano and the hits came.”
“Queen of Soul”
In 1967 Franklin issued her first Atlantic single, “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”, a blues ballad that introduced listeners to her gospel style. Produced by Jerry Wexler, the song became Franklin’s breakthrough single reaching the Top 10 on the Hot 100, and holding the #1 spot for 7 weeks on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart. The B-side to the single, “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”, charted on the R&B side, and introduced a more gospel element to Franklin’s developing sound.
Her next single, “Respect”, firmly launched Franklin to superstardom. Written and originally recorded by Otis Redding, Franklin’s feminist version of the song became a hit reaching #1 on both the R&B and the Pop charts and helping her Atlantic debut album, I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, reach million-seller status. In the next ten months, Franklin released a number of top ten hits including “Baby I Love You”, “Chain Of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”.
In early 1968 Franklin won her first two Grammies (for “Respect”), including the first Grammy awarded in the “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” category. Franklin went on to win eight “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” awards in a row. Over the next seven years, Franklin continued to score hit singles including “Think”, “The House That Jack Built”, “I Say A Little Prayer” (a cover of Dionne Warwick’s hit), “Call Me”, “Don’t Play That Song” and “Spanish Harlem”.
By the end of the 1960s, Franklin’s position as The Queen of Soul was firmly established. Her albums were also hot sellers; one in particular, 1972′s Amazing Grace, eventually sold over two million US copies, becoming “the best-selling gospel album of all time”. Franklin’s hit streak continued into the mid-1970s. 1973′s emotional plea “Angel”, produced by Quincy Jones and written by Franklin’s sister Carolyn, was a stand out single that became yet another #1 on the R&B chart. The subsequent album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), however, was not successful.
1974′s Gold-certified single “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” hit #1 R&B and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. By 1975, however, with the expanding exposure of Disco and the popularity of fellow Atlantic artist Roberta Flack, relations between Franklin and Atlantic Records were starting to strain. As a result, Aretha was recording poor material such as 1975′s listless You album, and her record sales declined dramatically. Franklin had peaked while the music industry was moving on to younger black female singers such as Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, and Donna Summer.

Decline and tragedy
In 1976, Franklin’s Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack of the film, Sparkle, briefly brought Franklin out of her funk. It was her first album to reach Gold status since the landmark Amazing Grace. The suggestive “(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel” became a number-one R&B smash and reached #28 on the Pop side. However, it was Aretha’s only Pop Top 40 appearance during the second half of the 1970s. Her later period Atlantic albums including Sweet Passion, Almighty Fire and La Diva were critical as well as sales failures and to top it off Franklin owed major debts to the IRS for failure to pay back taxes. Her recording contract with Atlantic ran out at the end of 1979 and neither Aretha nor the company had any desire to renew it. On June 10, 1979, Franklin’s minister father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was seriously wounded during what was said to be an attempted robbery at his Linwood Avenue home in Detroit, leaving him in a comatose state in which he remained until he died in the summer of 1984.

Return to prominence
In 1980, Franklin’s career was given a much-needed boost thanks to a cameo appearance on The Blues Brothers, singing Think as Mrs. Matt Murphy. That same year, Clive Davis signed Aretha to his Arista Records. The singles “United Together” and “Love All The Hurt Away” – a duet with George Benson – returned her to the Top 10 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. But it was the spectacular 1982 album, Jump To It, produced by longtime admirer Luther Vandross, and the title-track 45 that gave Aretha her first R&B chart-topping and pop success since “(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel”. The Jump To It album enjoyed a long run at #1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart (even the Zoomin’ album only reached #3). It won an American Music Award, was nominated for a Grammy and was certified Gold in early 1983 – Aretha’s first Gold disc since the 1976 Sparkle album.
The following year Franklin and Vandross collaborated again on the disappointing Get It Right. But in 1985, Franklin’s sound was commercialized into a glossy pop sound as she experienced her first-ever Platinum-certified album, Who’s Zoomin’ Who?. Yielding smash hits like the Motown-influenced “Freeway of Love”, the title track, and her duet with rock duo Eurythmics, “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves”, the album became the first Platinum certification of Aretha’s entire career, reintroducing her sound to a younger generation of fans. In 1986, Franklin did nearly as well with an album simply titled Aretha which yielded her first number-one pop single in two decades with the George Michael duet, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”. The album is noteworthy for the striking cover which was Andy Warhol’s last work before his death. Other hits included her cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the girl group-inspired “Jimmy Lee”. When Aretha was taken out of print, it had sold over nine million copies worldwide.
Aretha returned to gospel in 1987 with her album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism which was recorded live at her New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit. However, the disc was a far cry from her 1972 effort Amazing Grace and had middling sales. Subsequent follow-ups such as 1989′s Through The Storm and 1991′s What You See Is What You Sweat sold poorly and failed to produce any major mainstream hits – other than the former album’s Elton John-featured title track – but her career got a slight boost in 1993 when she scored a dance-club hit with “Deeper Love” off the Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit soundtrack. In 1994, she scored a top forty hit with the Babyface-produced ballad, “Willing To Forgive”.
Franklin returned to prominence with her 1998 album, A Rose Is Still A Rose. The album’s mixture of urban contemporary, hip-hop soul and soul was a departure from Franklin’s previous material. The title track, produced by Lauryn Hill, gave her a smash hit on the R&B and Pop charts and earned a gold single while the album was certified gold also, the first time since 1986′s Aretha that any of the singer’s albums went gold. That same year, with less than twenty-four hours to prepare, Franklin stepped in for Luciano Pavarotti to sing “Nessun Dorma” at the 1998 Grammy Awards. (Pavarotti, who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award that night, was too sick to attend.) She gave a soulful and highly improvised performance in the aria’s original key, while firmly stamping out the year with a captivating performance during VH-1′s “Divas Live” telecast.
Recent years
Following the success of A Rose Is Still A Rose, Franklin has continued recording if only sporadically. Her most recent release was 2003′s So Damn Happy, which included the Grammy-winning track “Wonderful”. Shortly after its release, Franklin left Arista Records after twenty-three years with the company. She has since started her own label, Aretha Records, and plans to issue her long-promised new album, A Woman Falling Out Of Love in 2008. She is also coaching young actors during auditions for a musical based on her autobiography, From These Roots.
In 1998, Franklin also took again her role of Mrs. Murphy in Blues Brothers 2000, this time singing her old hit “Respect”. Like in the 1980 movie, she plays the possessive wife of the lead guitarist of the Blues Brothers Band, singing the song during a row with her husband about his joining his former band.
Aretha has released a new album “Jewels In The Crown: All-Star Duets With The Queen” The disc features duets performed with Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Richard Marx, John Legend, Annie Lennox, Mary J. Blige, Frank Sinatra, George Michael, Christina Aguilera, George Benson, Fantasia, Gloria Estefan, and Mariah Carey. A duet with Faith Hill has been recorded but it’s not on the album. The album includes two new recordings with Fantasia, on the lead single “Put You Up On Game” and John Legend. The lead single “Put You Up On Game” hit radio on October 1, 2007 and became the number one most added song on Urban AC radio the following week. The album also includes Aretha’s historical rendition of “Nessun Dorma” from the 1998 Grammy telecast. The album was released November 13, 2007 on Arista Records.
On February 8, 2008, Franklin was honored as MusiCares “Person of the Year”, two days prior to the 50th Annual Grammy Awards where she was awarded her 20th Grammy.

Personal life
Twice divorced, Franklin is the mother of four grown sons. Two of her sons, Kecalf and Teddy, are active in the music business. Teddy is the musical director and guitarist of Franklin’s touring band. From 1961 to 1969, Aretha was married to her manager and co-writer Ted White. In 1978 she married Cooley High actor Glynn Turman. White had been a decade older than Aretha while Turman was four years younger. The marriage lasted until late 1982 when Franklin and her family returned permanently to Detroit. She and Turman officially divorced in early 1984.
She is the godmother of Whitney Houston, who also grew up to be a pop star, rising to fame in the mid 1980s. A still image of Franklin was shown in the closing scene of Houston’s late 1985 video for the single How Will I Know.

Awards and achievements
On January 3, 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In May 1987, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Musicology degree from the University of Detroit.
In September, 1999, she was awarded The National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her #9 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. To give perspective to this honor, only the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Little Richard finished ahead of her on this list. Ray Charles finished at number ten, right behind Franklin.
In 2005, she was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
In 2005, she became the second woman (Madonna being the first, a founding member) to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
On May 13, 2006, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Berklee College of Music.
On May 14, 2007, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She is the youngest recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
First black woman to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
On February 8, 2008, Franklin was honored as MusiCares “Person of the Year”.
On February 14, 2008, Franklin was given the Vanguard award at the NAACP Image awards.
In 2008, Franklin was added to PETA’s ‘Worst-Dressed Celebrities of 2008’ after appearing at the Grammy awards in a full length fur coat.
Grammy Awards
Franklin has won twenty Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century long career (she first charted in 1961), and holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance award with eleven to her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968 to 1975 – the first eight awarded in that category). (bio credit)

And DJ Diva Loves her with all her Heart.

Aries artists have a certain “Diva” quality about them and as soon as I highlight them you will recognize it immediately. I am not ashamed of being a Diva…it’s who I was born to be!

From now on, Old School Thursday will contain a mix instead of a package of music for download. Considering the hard times for recording artists…I have had a stroke of conscious and decided not to offer the music that way. So…you’ll have to listen to my mixes. Sorry, but if you really really gotta have the music pack…leave me a comment and I’ll send it!

The first Aries artist is Teddy Pendergrass! He epitomizes the nature of the Aries man (read here). Sexy, smooth talker, handsome in a rugged way, charismatic….I only wish I was older so I could have gone to his “Ladies Only” concerts. I’m sure panties dropped on stage like rain! When my mother listened to Teddy, I could have sworn she was single! As an older woman, now I can appreciate his songs of love, longing and despair. A social activist as well, when Teddy was with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, they sang songs to uplift and educate the nation. Even “Bad Luck”, with its superstitious undertone, provided a look in the state of Black America in the 70′s.

Once he became a solo singer, the sex symbol jumped from the group setting. It was then that we saw the true flavor that became known as TEDDY! I have included the full bio below the break with plenty of pics to showcase one of my favorite artists of all time!

Track Listing :

You Got What I Need
I Don’t Love You Anymore
You Can’t Hide from Yourself
Bad Luck (HM&BN)
Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)(HM&BN)
The Love I Lost (HM&BN)
Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose
Don’t Leave Me This Way
When Somebody Loves You Back
Two Hearts (with Stephanie Mills)
Love TKO
Come On Over To My Place
Turn Off The Lights
If You Don’t Know Me By Now (HM&BN)
I Miss You (HM&BN)
Hold Me In Your Arms (with Whitney Houston)
Feel The Fire (with Stephanie Mills)

Listen Here

Theodore DeReese Pendergrass, Sr. (born March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) affectionately known as ‘Teddy P’, “TP“, or “Teddy Bear” is an American soul singer.

Early life
He was born to Ida Geraldine Epps and the late Jesse Pendergrass, who left when Teddy was very young and was never a part of Teddy’s life. He was a student at the old Thomas Edison High School for Boys. However, he dropped out in the 11th grade to go into the music business. His first taste of show business was in Nova Scotia, Canada with a James Brown clone of a musician named Little Royal. Afterwards, Pendergrass left for unknown reasons. According to author Robert Ewell Greene, Teddy Pendergrass was ordained a minister as a youngster. Later he was to become a drummer for a band, and later lead singer. The church was his initiation for talent and eventual success.

Musical career

Pendergrass‘ career began when he was a drummer for The Cadillacs, which soon merged with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Melvin invited Pendergrass to become the lead singer after he jumped from the rear of a stage and started singing his heart out. Months later the group signed with Gamble & Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International Records in 1972. 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 and a brief stint with Teddy leading a group of Blue Notes, Pendergrass launched a solo career and released hit singles like “The More I Get the More I Want”, “Close The Door” (also redone by Boyz ll Men in 2004), “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, “Turn Off The Lights”, and more. Pendergrass was the first African-American singer to sell five platinum albums in a row. He also began his practice of ladies-only concerts, for which he remains well-known. 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). In August 1982, PIR also released “This One’s For You” while TP was recovering. Even in 1983 the album “Heaven Only Knows” was released. This was his last album containing his pre-accident recordings. Ten years after the accident, he recorded a version of “One Shining Moment,” the theme for March Madness Basketball on CBS.

On March 18, 1982, in the Germantown section of Philadelphia on Lincoln Drive, Pendergrass was involved in an automobile accident when the brakes failed on his Rolls-Royce and he hit a tree, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down with a spinal cord injury. In the car with him was Tenika Watson, 31. They were trapped in the auto 45 minutes after the 1:30 A.M. accident. The police said there were no indications of drug or alcohol use. He was taken to a center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for treatment. Ms. Watson was released after treatment at a hospital while Pendergrass spent six months in rehabilitation.

After completing physical therapy, he returned to the studio to record the album Love Language, featuring the 1984 ballad “Hold Me”, a duet with a then-unknown Whitney Houston. He also returned to the public for a performance on July 13, 1985 at the historic Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, then continued to record throughout the 1980s and 90s. Pendergrass has published a biography with Patricia Romanowski, entitled ‘Truly Blessed’. Pendergrass divorced Karen Still-Pendergrass in 2002, after 15 years of marriage, stating irreconcilable differences. He last performed publicly in 2003. In 2006, he announced on a radio station in New York that he has officially retired from the music business,but in May 2007, announced on New York radio station WBLS that he will perform live for the first time since 2003 at a June 10, 2007 benefit concert in Philadelphia. The performance will benefit The Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, formed by Mr. Pendergrass to help improve the quality of life for survivors of spinal cord injuries.

Currently, Mr. Pendergrass resides in the well-heeled Philadelphia suburb of Penn Valley, Pennsylvania.

(Bio credit)