R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass has died of colon cancer. He was 59.

Pendergrass, who was partially paralyzed after a car crash in 1982, had a deep baritone voice and was known as a sex symbol.

As the front man for the group, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Pendergrass left the group in the mid 70s to start his solo career. The singer’s hits “Close the Door,” “Come on Go with Me,” “Turn off the Lights” and “Love TKO” made him the first black male singer to record five consecutive platinum-selling albums.

His son, Teddy Pendergrass II, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his father passed away in a Philadelphia hospital on Wednesday after struggling to recover from colon cancer surgery eight months ago.

"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you," he said. “He will live on through his music."

He is survived by his wife, three children, nine grandchildren and his mother.

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