Teddy Pendergrass and a Lesson in Expression

Why does this video look like a standup comedy routine when you listen to it without the instrumental 😭 pic.twitter.com/XneKjCfKnn

— MedianSky (@MedianSky101) December 13, 2021

Before you watch this video, make sure the sound is off. Put it on mute, and watch. You can imagine that Teddy Pendergrass is doing a standup comedy routine. It's only a couple of minutes long, but if you are in a hurry, just watch the half-a-minute lower clip.

Then you can go back and listen to him sing in the upper clip, because I know you want to. Pendergrass is showing us some stagecraft here. If you don't have choreography or musicians in the background, you've got to give your audience a visual to hang onto. But that's not the actual motivation for his facial expressions. It's communication with the audience, lending emphasis to the lyrics he is singing. A smile makes the song notes sound more joyful. A wink or an eye roll conveys that Pendergrass means what he sings, and he knows you do, too. This performance is a legacy of a time when the lyrics and message of a song were paramount. (via Digg)