Teddy Pendergrass Has No Problem With Covers By Others
Veteran singer Teddy Pendergrass is working on a number of new projects to celebrate his musical legacy as well as help others who are coping with spinal injuries. Recently a 28-song retrospective of his many hits, titled The Essential Teddy Pendergrass, was released in November.
Pendergrass had numerous R&B hits with Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes and as a solo artist in the '70s and '80s. The distinctive singer says he has no problem with other artists recording tunes from his catalog, as British band Simply Red did with a cover of the Bluenotes classic "If You Don't Know Me By Now," for which they earned a Grammy.
Pendergrass said: "I would hope that if an artist is going to tackle a song that I have done or Aretha has done or artists who are great vocalists have done, they have to have some ability themselves. So I think Simply Red did a nice job. He stayed away from the ad-libs, like he should have, he sang the melody and he sang it well."
Pendergrass added that he doesn't mind if other artists record his tunes: "Other artists that have recorded or covered my songs, you know, I think they do what they do. And I don't compare it to me. I try to let the artists have their freedom of expression."
