Teddy Pendergrass, the seductive R&B singer who continued his recording career after he was paralyzed in a 1982 car accident, has died at the age of 59.

According to abcnews.com, Pendergrass’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, told the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper that his father died on Wednesday at a Philadelphia-area hospital. He had undergone colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had a difficult recovery.

Pendergrass began his career as a drummer but first rose to fame in the 1970s when he became lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which had hits such as “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” and “I Miss You.”

He was an international superstar and sex symbol. His career was at its apex — and still climbing when Pendergrass crashed his Rolls-Royce in Philadelphia in 1982 and was left paralyzed from the waist down. He resumed his recording career the next year with the album “Love Language” and returned to the stage by performing from his wheelchair at the Live Aid concert in 1985.