Introducing: Black True Crime | Teddy Pendergrass & The Murder of Taaz Lang (Network Drop)

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0:40I was hanging out with a friend, and they had just questioned me what I was going to do with this next chapter of my life. I immediately had said, I want to go to nursing school. So I actually had contact information from an advisor at Rasmussen, contacted her, and actually ended up starting like three weeks later. My name is Cherish Adams, and I'm a Rasmussen University graduate. Learn more at rasmussen.edu. A burst pipe. A dead water heater. The AC calling it quits. Who do you call? HomeServe is an easy way to handle unexpected home repairs. With plans covering stuff basic homeowners insurance usually won't.

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1:51Start today at AppleVacations.com or contact your trusted travel advisor. applications where your story starts black true crime is a podcast that researches and discusses murders committed by black offenders it is a podcast that anyone and everyone is welcome to enjoy but it may not be enjoyed by anyone and everyone so listener discretion is advised now without further ado this is black true crime

2:39Hello, everyone. Hi, friends. I'm Kayla. And I'm Nikki. And this is Black True Crime. All day long. And if this is your first time here at the show, friend, welcome and hello. Come on in. Have a sit down. We got something to tell you. Yes, we do. From what's on the screen already, Mom was like, is that who I think it is? And I said, yes, it is. T.P. It's T.P. Chair and not Tola Peeple. And not Tyler Perry. And not Turning Point.

3:12It is Teddy Pendergrass. Teddy Pendergrass. You already know from the title that we're going to get into some things. Oh, Teddy, I can't right now remember none of your songs. I want to say it's only for one night, but I think that's Luther. Might be Luther. Yeah. But I'm going to name some in a few. Okay. All right. So let's just dive right in. Okay, Mom, are you ready? I'm ready, Kayla. I had two weeks off from all this drama, so I am ready. She's in need of some. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, let's get started. Teddy Pendergrass was a legendary singer and songwriter from the 60s and 70s that attracted the attention of women worldwide.

3:52Mm-hmm. But when one of the closest women to him is murdered and then he suffers a near fatal accident years later, are people wrong to suggest that the two may be connected? Closest to him? Was it his mommy? One of the closest moms. Stop asking questions during the intro. Oh, you're still introducing. Sorry. Join us as we discussed Penny Pendergrass and the murder of Taz Lang. Who? Taz Lang. Taz Lang, that's her name? Taz Lang. Okay, Tess Lang. I like that name. No, you're going to behave. No. Stay focused at least. I try. Okay. Theodore DeReese Pendergrass Jr. What's his name? I know Theodore.

4:33She heard me the first time. Was born in March 26, 1950 in King Street, South Carolina. All right, South Carolina. Uh-huh. But he moved to Philly with his mother, Ida, when he was still a baby. Yeah, that's what we know, Teddy from Philly. Oh, that's what you knew? Oh, okay. His daddy had skipped out on them when he was super young, so Teddy didn't even get to meet his dad until he was about 11 years old. Deadbeat. Mm-hmm. And to be named after a deadbeat is even worse. Teddy's mama kept him in the church. And should. I read that she had Teddy at the church seven days a week. Mm-hmm. And this is where he learned how to not only sing, but also play the drums.

5:14All right, Teddy. You must have been Pentecostal. Girl, you know he was giving Baptists. Baptists didn't go to church seven days a week Well he was in the church I don't know if he was actually Having church but he was there I also read that his mother gave him a drum set And he taught himself how to play But either way Teddy was very musically inclined I love it And it all started at the cute little baby age of two Oh my bubby got a drum set I'm going to set it up in there Did you buy that for him? No Kristen did Hi Kristen Mrs. Smith Shout out to Kristen She misses me. Oh, I'm exhausted by you already, Mom.

5:52Oh, so get over it. Come on. Okay. Where were we? Okay. And by the age of 10, he was an ordained minister. Dang. Literally at the pulpit preaching. Go ahead, Teddy. Mm-hmm. And he said although he kind of always knew he would be, like, involved in music somehow for the rest of his life, it wasn't truly confirmed for him until he saw Jackie Wilson perform. Jackie Wilson. I don't know who that is. Me either. And that's all right. But I remember their name. Now, 60s and 70s, I was only a child that time. So I'm just hearing the music through my mom. Yes. 70s, you were born in 74. So you was just tail end of it.

6:32In a 1995 interview, he said, quote, I always knew that I wanted to be in show business, but it was confirmed for me when I was about 13 and saw Jackie Wilson on stage. I saw the way he worked on stage. That for me was it. and I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. You was an entertainer, huh? Oh, yeah. Probably sexy, too. Jackie Wilson was an entertainer. What was that? Jackie Wilson. Yeah. Duh, he was an entertainer, Mom. He said he saw him in concert. You said on stage. Same thing. Who else is on stage? A lot of people on stage. And they're all entertainers. Yes, they are.

7:11Yes, they may not entertain you, but they're entertainers. Okay. So when he was just a junior in high school, he decided to drop out and spend all of his time working on his music. You weren't preaching that much? No, he kind of like, that's the next part I was just going to say. Because yes, Teddy still loved the gospel, like soul music he grew up on, but he was also drawn to R &B. Most of them are Whitney. And yeah, and found himself at the Uptown Theater quite often. Okay. So I know a lot of you don't know about the Uptown Theater. I didn't know about it until this case. But it was a theater in Philly known for hosting legendary soul R &B and jazz musicians like the Supremes, James Brown, Stevie Wonder.

7:57Yeah. They'd have amateur nights and comedy nights. So it was just like the place to be during that time. It really was. Hot to drop. And Teddy found even more musical influences in people like Otis Redding. Oh, yeah. And Nat King Cole. Oh, old school. I think we talked about Nat on the show. We have before. And even a little bit of, you know, Frank Sinatra. Okay, classy. Very like sexy singers. In 1969, when Teddy was just 19 years old, he joined his first ever group. And it was a vocal group called Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Have you ever heard of them? I know, but I wouldn't have went with that name.

8:35So he joined the group as their drummer. Okay. But he quickly graduated to lead vocalists after the group heard him saying, and how the women were just all over. Mom. I'm telling you, it's the open shirt with the chest out and all them chains hanging. Well, it is. He is a looker. He is a looker. Yeah. I think he's handsome. I would give him a run for his money. Yeah. A run for his money. He was outside. I don't know. He was outside. Handsome man. Line up that line up a little bit more. And that's all right. You know, a little rugged ain't hurt nobody. Sure. Nice teeth. As long as he got nice teeth.

9:17They do. They're a little crooked, but that's fine. Okay. So he became the lead singer, which obviously did not sit well with Harold, who was the lead singer. So, of course, there was a lot of fighting between those two, which led to 26-year-old Teddy leaving the group in 1975. Okay. All right. But while the group was together, they secured a contract with Philadelphia International Records and went on to release bangers like the 1972 hit, If You Don't Know Me By Now. Yeah, there you go. If you don't know me by now. There you go. You will never, ever get to know me. Ooh. Okay. Y 'all, mom knows she cannot say, so her thing on the show means she was feeling it.

10:04That doesn't mean I'm just out here, y 'all. She's feeling it. And I don't care. I don't like it. Okay. I'm going to sing it again. Lord help us. Mom, you're at a 10. I need you at a six. I'll never. Mm. Anyway, and another song from 1973, The Love I Lost. You may not know that one. I don't know that one. And then 1975, Bad Luck, and Wake Everybody Up came out. So these are songs apparently that people of the time. Wake up everybody. That one? Maybe. I don't know. I think that was Teddy Pinaigrat. With shoots. Wouldn't surprise me if it was a hit. You need to do your research and put some snippets in the music.

10:39Look here, look here, look here. A lot of stuff is like heavily copyrighted. So I was hoping you knew some stuff. You should have told me. You never tell me about the cases. Because I'm going to bust them out. Y 'all go listen to some of these songs. I'm going to listen. They know Teddy. I'm going to definitely listen after. Yeah, for real. So with Teddy choosing to go solo, he knew he wouldn't have any trouble keeping his career alive. He low-key knew he was the star of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. And that was made clear when he released his first solo album called Teddy Pendergrass. He did a namesake.

11:12That's when you know you got it. And that's your first album? When you got it, you got it. And you name it after yourself. Put your name on it. Because Luther had one. Whitney had one. Michael had one. Teddy had one. All of them had namesake albums. Period. And this was his first. So he was like. Oh, sorry. He was the man-man. Filling himself. In 1977 was when he released it, and it reached the number five spot on the Billboard's R &B charts, featuring songs like I Don't Love You Anymore, You Can't Hide From Yourself, and The Whole Town's Laughing At Me. Jesus, I didn't know you at all, Teddy.

11:48I feel like I didn't know you at all. You didn't know Teddy at all. I didn't know Teddy at all. They probably signed that song wrong. It's probably the wrong one. Wrong song and everything. Our listeners are going to tell us a hundred times, so don't worry. They're going to let us know. Even if they saw someone right above them, let us know already. They're going to type it again. Don't judge us. I don't care. You already know this is before my time. I feel like this is kind of Black history because he does make history, and we're going to get to it. Oh, definitely. This man then went on to release another crazy album the following year, and y 'all, the people were just eating it up.

12:27Who was it? uh it was called teddy i think oh i think it was just called teddy okay i can't remember but he would have shows that were only for women so like no teddy he even fell far and they threw my said he fell far he even fell far from the full pit and they would throw everything they could think of up at that man lingerie they would throw teddy bears they just He was a sex symbol. I can name so many of his well-known hits. The man was just a star and everyone wanted a piece of him. Okay. Which will come back up later in the case. He released his third album called Teddy. So his third album was Teddy.

13:08I can't remember what the second one was. Okay. And that was in 1979 featuring his hit songs, Turn Off the Lights. Turn off the lights. Yeah, I know that. Oh, he was sexy. I remember that because we had the quiet storm. Quiet storm and all them little sexy moves that come off and we'll go to sleep to them. Oh. Yeah, but turn off the light was one of them. Period. He was described as being simply irresistible. Yeah, he has swag. He. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see it now, Teddy. Look, look, she's here, P.O. She's getting it. And she did it right, y 'all. I did it right. Wow. Okay. I'm impressed. According to one of his drummers who was present for the ladies only shows, he said, quote, I think the tone of his voice hit a certain center in them or something.

14:01He wasn't built like Arnold Schwarzenegger or nothing. He came out in that wife beater t-shirt and they went crazy. We didn't understand it. I don't even think he understood it. It was the voice. They should have named him the voice. They named Whitney the voice. They should have named him Mr. Voice. Uh-huh. Because he was sexy. It's a sex appeal to that voice. I'm sure his talking voice was nice. Like, he looks like a clean man. He got done phone sex and made a good amount of money. Probably not as much as he made, but we'll get to it. Not phone sex, but you know that phone call and stuff. That's what the phone sex did.

14:35Oh, okay, yeah. So whether he understood it or not, Teddy was benefiting from his sex appeal and talent to the tune of having a beautiful mansion, a whole fleet of luxury cars. he loved luxurious experiences like he just held himself that way he was also a businessman I read that he had it was um I think it was called it was Teddy we're gonna talk about it in a little bit but like Teddy Pendergrass Productions or something like that so he had his own production company he had his own line of jeans for women so you know he was making boo-koo money off that woo woo woo to get in Teddy's jeans that's what they were doing girl they wanted to be and Teddy Jane.

15:15Yeah, he had a momentum check. He was definitely one of them ones. And he wrote his own music. He was a hit maker. People called him Black Elvis, which I'm like, Elvis jacked a lot of our stuff, but whatever. Either way, he was a musical shooting star. Forrest Gump told Elvis how to dance through that one You Ain't Nothin' But The Hound all day. A talent you'd only get twice in a lifetime. As we ignore Mother and her ridiculous. I saw it on Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump said, that young man, he told him how to dance and he saw him on TV doing it. Okay. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Oh, my God. Anyway, Teddy made history for being the first black singer to have five consecutive platinum records.

16:10Do the doggone thing, Teddy. Do the doggone thing. Hello. You can call me what you want to, but don't call me broke. You can't call me on a cop. I'm telling you. And he was still making hits when he was in a near-fatal car crash in 1982 that changed his life forever. What happened? A near-fatal car accident. Okay. But how? Who did it? Yeah. Well, we're going to get to it. I think something that makes me well-studded to be a nurse is my empathy. Growing up with a big family, I think I've always kind of been a caregiver. When you CareGive, you get to know the family and the patient, and you get really close.

16:48And Rasmussen University, they did a very, very good job of giving us the resources that we need. So just being able to apply the knowledge that I've retained to my daily life has been so amazing. Learn more at rasmussen.edu. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12 month plan required.

17:31$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Apple Vacations, where your story starts. The July Savings Event from Apple Vacations is here. Book by July 23rd and save up to$400 off your flight and hotel package to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, or Europe. From all-inclusive escapes to bucket list adventures, Apple Vacations makes it easy to create memories with the people who matter most. Start today at AppleVacations.com or contact your trusted travel advisor. Apple Vacations, where your story starts.

18:05This is Ashley I from the Almost Famous Podcast. Can I be honest for a second? Some mornings I look in the mirror and I think, why do I look this tired? Puffiness around the eyes, dullness. Because sometimes stress starts showing up on your face before you even realize it. And that's why I've been loving this holistic goddess organic castor oil roll-on with frankincense. No crazy chemicals, no expensive treatments. It's just organic castor oil, frankincense, and this rose quartz roller that feels so good on tired, stressed skin. I look for anything that can de-puff me and this really did. My under eyes look brighter.

18:43My face looked way more refreshed. It's almost like my face just exhaled. So try the Holistic Goddess Organic Castor Oil Roll-On with frankincense yourself. Use my promo code Ashley at tryhg.com slash Ashley for 15 % off. Promo code Ashley at tryhg.com slash Ashley. That is him and Dion. Girl, look at Teddy in that fur coat. Teddy had class. Yes. Y 'all, he had class. Glasses and all. Mm-hmm. I know, that's right. You still have to be classy and glasses. What y 'all was doing? Girl, bruh, everything. What y 'all was doing? You're rocking it out. Mm-hmm. So on March 18, 1982, 31-year-old Teddy was driving his Rose Voice on a winding road in the Germantown section of Philly when the power steering on his car just completely stopped working.

19:38Kaylee, you did a time twister and you did that thing. I did. You said Teddy was driving. Teddy was driving. And his roles were on a winding road. I would say Teddy was rolling, rolling, rolling. On the street. Oh, wow. I was trying to focus. Thank you, Mom. So he was doing that in the Germantown section of Philly when he lost control of his car and he smashed into a highway divider first and then a tree. What? So if you're on Patreon, you see the picture of the car and a tree. God, that's an old rose. That tree wrapped around it. Yep. Looks really bad. Oh, it's so bad. It's really bad. Y 'all, I'm really coloring this because I want y 'all to go to Patreon, the one saying, oh, you should see it.

20:23Oh, is that a leg? Oh, it's not. I think it's an arm on top of that. Don't lie, Lord. Now, I read that it was because the brakes failed or because there was an electrical issue that caused his power steering to just stop working. But either way, he couldn't control the car. Okay. Sounds kind of suspicious to me. Here's my take on that. Not that you asked, but here it is. That car looks so old and antique. I don't think no electric was in there, for one. Okay. And then, two, I think somebody cut his brake line because they was jealous. Mm. Okay. That's what I'm thinking. Well, we'll see, I guess.

21:01Thankfully, the crash did not kill him. Thank you, Lord. However, it did break his neck. Oh, not his vocal cords. Good Lord. In the neck. Ugh. I know. Not his vocal cords, though. They weren't affected. But he was paralyzed after that from the chest down. Really? Mm-hmm. For the rest of his life. Oh, my. I know. That's tragic. I know, right? Wow. It's out of the blue, it seems. Somebody did it. That's what I think. Oh, we're talking about this one. That old lead singer. Who? Harold? The Blue Note? Harold? He had a grudge. What? Yeah. That's how he went out of here? No. Oh. I said he survived. I know.

21:47Keep up. Okay. The news of his crash spread like wildfire, and people started to speculate a lot of different things. Some suggested he wasn't. He was drunk. Maybe. But he wasn't. Okay, good. There were claims that he wasn't alone in the car, that he was actually with a transgender woman, which he was. I'm speechless. Wait a minute, let's get it together. I know. He was gay. Undercover brother. Mom, well, before we started, she saw Teddy's picture on the thing. She's like, it was either him or Marvin that was gay. More than likely it was both. Yeah. Marvin Gaye was gay. There you go. And Teddy was too.

22:31He was dabbling. You know? And there's no shade, no fade, but that's what it was. Yeah, that's what it was. It was on the way back to his home, is what I heard. But back then it was different. They had to hide it. Yeah, yeah. They still hide it now, but, you know, they shouldn't. Everybody knows. I don't know why the majority is. We all see. Especially in Atlanta. Shout out to Atlanta. It's how old it is. I just ain't gonna date nobody there, but yeah. Hey.

22:55Oh, my gosh. Okay. So they both survived, thank the Lord. But the accident did a number on Teddy's mental health. And he said he was down so bad that he thought about committing suicide. How, Teddy, couldn't move? Ma, he could kill himself in some way. You know what? He's just out of the head. He said chest down, chest down. I think he can move his arms. Ma, the arms is above the chest. That's not funny. That's not funny, Ma. It's not funny. And I don't like it. No, I don't like it. No, I don't like what you say. No, I don't like what you're implying. No, I don't like what you're implying. I don't like what you're implying.

23:33It's amazing. If I was a bitch, it's bad. And you didn't do it like this. No, you don't be moving. Mom, neck down is like including arms and stuff, you know? So like neck down, you can't really communicate in other ways or stuff like that. Teddy was still making music, girl. where did he get to it oh he gotta do this hold his head like this like i'm doing the same i ain't moving at the block of saying in this position but this chest down and on mom you're gonna have to say you're gonna have to answer for this these types of comments when you meet the lord i'm just gonna let you know the lord's gonna ask you he's gonna tell you he's gonna say my daughter why did you say that why did you say that he gonna he gonna chuckle a little bit nick that's what the call me nick nick you say them pop daddy you don't spoil it but i miss christine she keeps you level lord so anyway he was in a dark place he thought about killing himself with the small range of motion he had okay that's not funny that part ain't thank you but the vision of him yes let's go let's let it go but he decided he wanted to live after getting some professional help and he they actually staged a mock funeral mom please don't ask for teddy mom they had him lay down he was under a sheet his family members came in they they said what would happen how they would feel if he died and stuff like that you know it was in my opinion a little extreme but it was beneficial but do what you gotta do to save a life you know he said after that he realized he hopped up out the sheet uncovered his head he did not hop up if he was paralyzed from the chest down but anyway go ahead he removed that cover from his head he said i don't want to die so okay well thank god thank god for that and teddy decided he wanted to continue to make music So he started releasing music again and recorded six more albums.

25:37Six more albums. Not records, but albums. That made multiple songs on each one of them. Yes, four of which went gold, which is a huge feat for someone that literally can't even walk, can't perform like he was doing, and still had millions of fans all around the world. The voice wasn't destroyed. Unbelievable. And he was still loved by plenty and many. When he died on January 13, 2010, at the age of 59. And it was due to complications from colon cancer. Colon cancer. Yeah. That's what took him out of here. He left behind his mother, his wife Joan, his three - He married? Yeah, child. So he left behind three children.

26:22And there are four children at the time. So he had four grandchildren at the time that he died. And then he also left behind the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, which was a non-profit he started to help others living with spinal cord injuries. So, and he's like, you know, I know it's hard for me now. Let me help you all out. Yeah, nice, Teddy. Nice, Teddy. So he tried to do some good things before he left us. Rest in peace to Teddy Pendergrass. Yes. But let's get back to the accident. Okay. That may not have been an accident. It wasn't. Because according to people close to Teddy, when his other cars were checked after the accident, remember he had like a bunch of nice cars.

26:59Some of them had their brake lines cut. I told you. And had been vandalized. I may not know a lot, but I know a lot. She knows certain things. What? I know it. Yeah. So that clearly suggests that somebody tampered with the cars and wanted to make sure whatever car he drove didn't get him safely to where he was going. Wow, dirty dogs. And although no real evidence surfaced about who may have cut all those brake lines or tampered with Teddy's cars, many people speculated that it may have been someone from the Philly Police Department because at that time, Teddy was suing the police department for$500 ,000.

27:39Why? Because they were harassing him. Like, he was a black man driving around the city in a nice, you know, nice cars and stuff like that. They were on his booty crack for no reason. But why would they get access to his vehicles? it's a police department who else could get access to your vehicles without i mean but that should have been on his private property well yeah but that's still easy and this is like this is 19 what seven what was it it was 1982 so cameras he's not really probably having cameras out there like either way somebody that was trusted to get near his cars they did it may have let someone near it or may have did it because they were coerced or whatever yeah somebody paid the house help maybe and others thought it might have been the philadelphia black mafia who teddy had a couple run-ins with and who also allegedly murdered a woman named taz lane yeah teddy was running like that yeah the street life with the mafia so i know you guys are probably like where is the crime in all of this.