This is one of the great soul groups of the 70's, appearing on the regular nation-wide Saturday "Soul Train" show. The regular host, Don Cornelius, was replaced this November 22, 1975 by the great comedian/actor Richard Pryor, who introduces the group here and has a few laughs with each member.
"Soul Train" was a regular viewing experience for me back then, and I've always loved this song. Other super hits for this group, (which by '75 might as well been called "Teddy Pendergrass and the Blue Notes"), included "The Love I Lost", "Don't Leave me This Way" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now".
"Bad Luck" peaked on the Billboard Top 100 at Number 15 that Summer of 1975, was Number 4 on the Soul/R&B charts in the USA and was the number one dance tune for eleven straight weeks. That set a record for the Philadelphia based-group not to be equalled until 1983, when Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album became the biggest dance hit album probably of the century.
Alas, Teddy Pendergrass was badly injured in a car accident a few years after this taping, in 1982, and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life with a spinal cord injury.
Five years prior to that, Teddy left Harold Melvin's group (over financial issues) and launched a successful solo career that included several gold and platinum albums. The Blue Notes never found a successor to his mantle. He returned to the stage in 1985 for the "We Are the World" charity album, recorded at that years Grammy Awards. He died in January, 2010, from cancer, at age 59. (source: Wikipedia)
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