Can't We Try

"Can't We Try" — Teddy Pendergrass and the Sound of 1980 Soul

A Voice Built for Intimacy

The summer of 1980 carried a particular weight in American music. Disco's commercial dominance had crested and was retreating, leaving open space that soul, R&B, and adult contemporary were rushing to fill. Teddy Pendergrass was already one of the most compelling voices in that territory, a man who had built his reputation fronting Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes before launching a solo career in 1977 that quickly established him as one of the decade's defining R&B presences. His voice, rich and physically imposing, carried an emotional directness that felt genuine rather than performed.

The Solo Career at Full Stride

By 1980, Pendergrass had released three successful solo albums on Philadelphia International Records, each reinforcing his position as the preeminent masculine voice in Black romantic music. He had developed a concert reputation that was equally unusual: his shows for women-only audiences had become cultural events, generating both considerable press and a devoted fanbase that bordered on devotion. "Can't We Try" arrived in this context, a mid-tempo soul track that matched the emotional register of his best-known work, centered on the negotiations of a relationship in trouble and the desire to preserve it rather than abandon it.

Twelve Weeks on the Hot 100

"Can't We Try" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 30, 1980, entering at number 82. Over the following weeks it climbed steadily through the chart, reaching its peak position of number 52 on September 27, 1980. The track spent twelve weeks on the Hot 100 in total, a solid run that confirmed Pendergrass's crossover appeal beyond strictly R&B formats. The chart trajectory, a steady climb through the late summer and early autumn, matched the kind of word-of-mouth and radio rotation that characterized soul music success of the period.

Philadelphia International and the Production Sound

The Philadelphia International Records approach to production had defined a certain kind of lush, orchestrated soul through the 1970s, and by 1980 it remained a distinctive sound even as the musical landscape was shifting. Pendergrass's material in this period maintained the label's characteristic warmth while incorporating elements that felt contemporary without abandoning the emotional directness that had made his catalog distinctive. The arrangement on "Can't We Try" balanced orchestral elements with a rhythm track that gave the song enough forward momentum to work on radio without sacrificing the intimacy that Pendergrass was uniquely positioned to deliver.

The Concert Phenomenon

Pendergrass's live performances in the late 1970s and early 1980s were a significant part of his cultural footprint. The decision to stage concerts for women-only audiences, an unusual and commercially savvy move that generated enormous press coverage, reinforced his image as an artist whose relationship with his audience was intensely personal. Radio programmers and record executives paid attention to that engagement, because an artist who could command that level of devotion was an artist whose records would be played. "Can't We Try" arrived in this context of sustained fan investment, which contributed directly to its twelve-week chart performance and helped it outlast many competing releases in the crowded R&B market of 1980.

Before the Accident, and After

The spring of 1982 would bring a devastating automobile accident that left Pendergrass paralyzed from the chest down, fundamentally altering the remainder of his career. In retrospect, the recordings from 1978 through 1981 take on additional significance as documents of an artist at the peak of his physical and creative powers. "Can't We Try" belongs to that extraordinary window, a period when Pendergrass was arguably the most commanding male R&B vocalist in the country. His eventual return to recording and performing, accomplished from a wheelchair, became its own remarkable chapter in music history. But "Can't We Try" belongs to the first chapter, when he seemed unstoppable. Put it on and you hear exactly why.

"Can't We Try" — Teddy Pendergrass's singular moment on the 1980s charts.