View Full Version : McFadden & Whitehead singer Shot Dead


Dr. Jazz
05-12-2004, 10:49 AM
R&B Artist John Whitehead Shot Dead

From Yahoo News



PHILADELPHIA - John Whitehead, a prominent R&B artist best known for the 1979 hit song "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," was shot dead Tuesday, police said.

Whitehead, 55, and another man were working on a vehicle when they were shot by two gunmen, police said. The assailants fled.

Whitehead was shot in the neck and collapsed. Ohmed Johnson, who was shot in the buttocks, was in good condition early Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police said the gunmen fired a series of bullets; a young neighborhood girl said she heard about a dozen shots.

"Why did they do this to my dad?" Dawn Whitehead, 33, asked at the scene. "I just talked to him yesterday ... He was a fun person. Who would want to kill him?"

Police had no immediate suspects or motive.

Gene McFadden, who was Whitehead's partner in the singing group McFadden & Whitehead, went to the scene in the city's West Oak Lane neighborhood and stood there trembling, WPVI-TV reported.

The two men formed a group called the Epsilons in their youth and were discovered by Otis Redding (news), touring with the legendary performer in the 1960s, according to their Web site.

The duo wrote several hit songs performed by others in the 1970s, including "Back Stabbers," "For the Love of Money," "I'll Always Love My Mamma," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody," "Where Are All My Friends," "The More I Want," and "Cold, Cold World."

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and reached No. 13 on the pop chart. The song became an unofficial anthem for the Phillies as they charged to a World Series (news - web sites) championship in 1980 and the Eagles as they reached the Super Bowl in 1981.

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Such a tragedy. Just last night I was at a political function and they played "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". That song will always be around. McFadden & Whitehead wrote so many great 70's R&B songs. They're legends in Philadelphia.

Jrnygrl
05-12-2004, 10:57 AM
So, so sad. My condolences to this family.

RIP!

:crying: :crying: :crying: peacesign:

isiahthomas
05-12-2004, 02:46 PM
I read about that on Yahoo.com today. That is sad. I wonder what the gunmen killed him for. This world is so full of violence & ignorant people. I can't wait until the day i die & i won't miss this planet. I'm so sick of ignorant people.

vashti1999
05-12-2004, 08:54 PM
That's sad news. I just saw McFadden & Whitehead on a soul music special that aired on public television around a month ago during a pledge drive. John Whitehead also had a sons who recorded as the Whitehead Bros. and charted a couple of singles a decade ago. "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's a shame that he went out that way.

isiahthomas
05-13-2004, 10:37 AM
Aren't the Whitehead Brothers the ones who sang Your Love Is Like A 187? If this is the group i'm thinkin of, they also had a song on Jason's Lyric soundtrack called If I Was A G.

musicradio77
05-13-2004, 08:03 PM
McFadden and Whitehead will always be remembered for their 1979 song "Ain't No Stopping Us Now". I always love that song. I know that John Whitehead was shot to death. They're are so many people who had killed with a gunshot in years: :(

1. John F. Kennedy
2. Robert F. Kennedy
3. Martin Luther King Jr.
4. John Lennon
5. Marvin Gaye
6. 2Pac
7. Biggie Smalls
8. Jam Master J

dandelion wine
05-13-2004, 08:26 PM
Very sad news..my condolences to his family. :(