Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass spent his last 28 years in a wheelchair, left to wonder what life might have been like had a car crash not altered his destiny.
Pendergrass was one of the most electric and successful figures in 1970s music. He established a new era of R&B with an explosive voice that symbolized masculinity and passion in songs such as "Close the Door" and "Love T.K.O."
His career was at its apex when a 1982 car crash paralyzed him from the waist down.
Longtime collaborator Kenny Gamble says Pendergrass had a tremendous career ahead of him but the accident "got in the way of many of those plans."
Pendergrass still was able to sing — but without his signature power.
He died Wednesday in suburban Philadelphia after a difficult recovery following colon cancer surgery. He was 59.
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Associated Press writers Patrick Walters and Bob Lentz contributed to this report from Philadelphia.
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