John Whitehead, born July 10, 1948, is one half of the famed collaborative duo, McFadden & Whitehead. His wife, Elnor Whitehead, describes him as "John Whitehead was life." He exuded passion. He "described life as a play everyone had a part." John definitely played his, intertwining his life in his music, "offering his world on stage."

 

    John's mother, Mary E. Whitehead, described him as "Personality plus. Everyone he ever met clung to him. When I first brought him home from the hospital, my mother,Willie Smith, asked, ‘Can I hold Toodles?’” This shared affection would remain, alongwith the nickname, the rest of his life.

  

     His close friend of roughly 41 years, producer Terry Price-Grant described Whitehead as "an energy field," a "loud and sometimes raunchy" energy field, but "he could also be soft-spoken and very sentimental."

 

    Remembering their father and grandfather the children shared, "Our father was a friend, entertainer, and a legend. He would always make us smile, and we remember him always smelling good." His daughter recalls, "My father was very funny with a sweet personality that made everyone feel beautiful and special."

 

    Close friend, Anthony "Tone" Williams agreed, "John was the funniest guy I ever knew. "Williams, between fits of laughter, offered, "John was about music from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep. John was music."

 

    Whitehead's sister, Sylvia Adrienne, shared emotionally, "He was one of a kind, a people person that loved to keep a smile on everyone's face…. I'll always remember his broad smile. He was a sweet person. He was a blessing, a genius. He is my brother." It is these sides of John Whitehead that made him not only a performer, but also a family man, a side rarely seen.

    Elnor described John as a "live-for-the-moment kind of guy. He did everything fast. He ate fast, he dressed  fast… but, of course, it didn't help that he was clumsy." Such  moments were uncommon in the public eye, as John always seemed in command, singing and dancing on stage.

 

    John Whitehead and Gene McFadden were raised in the same impoverished Philadelphia neighborhood, later bonding while attending Thomas Edison High School, where, Elnor shared with a laugh, "John would invite other students to come watch him perform in the fire escape." Early on, John began to display signs of Price's description of him as "the ultimate entertainer, on stage and off."

 

    As a six-month-old infant, John was said by his mother to have grunted along with the song "Do the Huckabuck," a hit released in early 1949.

 

    At Edison, John and Gene joined with Whitehead's cousin, Ronald "Roame" Lowry, who later became a member of Frankie Beverley's Maze, and Allen Beatty. Otis Redding saw the group perform in 1966 and hired them as his backing vocalist. The Epsilons also found work backing Arthur Conley on his classic "Sweet Soul Music." However, following Redding's tragic death, the group's fortunes declined, almost evaporating after the 1968 Stax single "The Echo."

    Whitehead and McFadden eventually returned to Philadelphia, forming Talk of the Town with James Knight and Lloyd Parks. Two subsequent singles, "Little Bit of Your Lovin'" and "Don't Be So Mean," appeared on North Bay in 1971. He and McFadden soon began writing songs, convincing Philadelphia International's Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff to listen to their composition "Back Stabbers." Recorded by the O'Jays in 1972, "Back Stabbers" became the label's first gold record, establishing a milestone for theadvancement of the Philadelphia music scene and Philadelphia Soul.

 

    Over the next six years, writers and producers McFadden and Whitehead would secure 22 gold records, two platinum albums and two Grammy nominations. The duo contributed such hits to the Philly soul resurgence as Archie Bell and the Drells "Don't Let Love Get You Down," and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' "Wake Up Everybody" and "Where Are All My Friends." Rejuvenating their Talk of the Town project, the duo released the singles "Super Groover (All Night Mover)," "Bumpin' Boogie" and "I Apologize" on a branch of Philadelphia International, Gamble and TSOP.

 

    In 1978, as simply McFadden and Whitehead, they returned to the studio to record “Ain’t No Stoppin' Us Now" in one take. Whitehead, displaying his creativity, amazingly generated most of the lyrics during this studio session. The single became a national and international epic, topping the Billboard R&B charts and later becoming a sports anthem  for determined Philadelphia sports teams. The lyrics of this song could not be truer as there is no stopping the memory of John Whitehead. He lives on through his music, the music he believed was always a direct lifeline to the hearts of others.