The Untold Stories of the Sylvers, Teddy Pendergrass, the DeBarges, The LeVerts, Soul Train Dancers and Other Legendary Black Music Artist Stories For Black History Month

If you were asked to name some of the most talented musical families in history, the Jacksons, the DeBarges and The Isley Brothers might be the first that come to mind. But don’t sleep on The Sylvers, a group of nine singing siblings from Watts, California, that entertained fans for decades. — Angela Johnson

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Teddy Pendergrass dominated R&B music in the 1970s and 80s. He got his start as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and quickly established himself as a sexy solo artist known to drive the ladies crazy with his smooth baritone voice. — Angela Johnson

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If you were around in the 1970s and 1980s, you already know that the DeBarge family dominated R&B music along with The Sylvers and The Jacksons. The siblings, who grew up in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan, found music as a way to cope with the physical abuse they suffered at the hands of their father, a white Army veteran and the bullying they experienced as biracial children in the 1960s and 70s. — Angela Johnson

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In the 1960s and 70s, Eddie Levert Sr. was known as one-third of the popular R&B group The O’Jays. His sons Gerald and Sean grew up watching their father perform the group’s hit songs in front of large crowds and decided they wanted to follow in his footsteps. With the help of a family friend, Marc Gordon, they started the group LeVert and ushered in a new generation of R&B music that attracted a new generation of fans. But like so many successful music groups, the pressure of fame took hold and led to tragedies that impacted the group and the Levert family. — Angela Johnson

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Since the Grammys and Black History are bringing in February, we thought we’d do something to complement both. From 1971 to 2006, “Soul Train” was the place to see some of the hottest Black musical artists on television. But viewers didn’t just tune in for the music, they came back week after week to watch a talented and super fly group of young people showing off their style and their best dance moves. If you ever seen a “Soul Train” line, you already know what we’re talking about. — Angela Johnson

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Joni, Kim, Debbie and Kathy Sledge were taught how to sing by their grandmother Viola Williams, a former lyric soprano opera singer and protégée of civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune, the sisters recounted in various interviews. — Emell Adolphus

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