Teddy Pendergrass, Joy | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 179^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Joy” by the late, great Teddy Pendergrass.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 179^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Joy”, performed by 🎙 Teddy Pendergrass.

“It’s a joy / Joy to be / To be near you / I want you here with me.” Woo! 🎙 Teddy Pendergrass (1950 – 2010) was one of the most dynamic soul singers of all time. Songs like 🎵 “Close The Door” and 🎵 “Turn Off The Lights” mark his high watermark, not to mention his tenure with 🎙 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.  Prior to a paralyzing accident in 1982, his instrument was at its best.  Following his musical setbacks due to the life changing accident, Pendergrass managed to make a comeback, which is incredibly impressive.  His voice wasn’t quite the same, but it was still INCREDIBLE. While 🎵 “Joy”, from his 1988 album, 💿 Joy failed to make a big splash on the pop charts (peaked at no. 77), it topped the R&B charts for two weeks 💪.

“Life is too damn short to let you get away

I’m here to say I need your love, oh baby

There’s no greater pleasure than you give to me

Hear me, baby, I want you to know.”

“Joy” sounds different from the Philly soul tunes Teddy recorded in the 1970s and early 80s.  This track is more contemporary and idiomatic of the mid-, late 80s R&B sound. It’s also poppier.  The groove is electrifying, anchored by that beloved boxy drum programming 🥁.  Beyond the drums, rhythm is a defining feature of this 🎛 Reggie Calloway and Vincent Calloway production.  The synth bass line is lit 🔥. The rhythmic guitar 🎸 is also lit 🔥, with the tone standing out as much as the riffs.  Also, the keyboards 🎹 and programming keep “Joy” picturesque. Not a total deviation from the soul of old, there are sweet, articulated horns 🎺 and strings 🎻 in the mix, too. This backdrop is perfect for Pendergrass, who shines vocally, if in a more modest sense compared to the past. Still, that tone is once-in-a-lifetime.  Furthermore, what isn’t the least bit diminished is his personality, not to mention that TP sex appeal 🤩! Case in point: “You’re my fantasy, no other love can set me free / I’m glad to know that you’re all mine, mine.” Indeed, Teddy, indeed. 🎵 “Joy” = such a joy to listen to!

🎙 Teddy Pendergrass • 💿 Joy • 🏷 Elektra / Asylum • 🗓 1988

Teddy Pendergrass, Joy: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 179 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Elektra / Asylum; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]