R&B star John Whitehead shot dead

PHILADELPHIA (NY RnB magazine/70s Website) - Philadelphia music legend John Whitehead was gunned down in broad daylight Tuesday, and now police say they don't think he was the target of the shooters.

Whitehead, 55, and his partner, Gene McFadden, had a No. 1 hit with the song, "Ain't No Stopping Us Now," which was the official theme song for the Philadelphia Phillies during their run for the World Series in the 80s. He was killed yesterday while working on a vehicle with another man in Philadelphia, police said. The assailant fled.

Whitehead was shot in the neck and collapsed. The other man was shot in the buttocks and taken to a hospital.

Gene McFadden, who was Whitehead's partner in the singing group McFadden & Whitehead, went to the scene of the shooting in the city�s West Oak Lane neighbourhood 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 and toured with him in the 1960s, according to their website.

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.

Their "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" hit No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1979 and peaked at No. 13 on the pop list. The song also served as an unofficial anthem for the Phillies as they won the World Series in 1980 and the Eagles as they reached the Super Bowl in 1981. The two cut their own album, McFadden & Whitehead, in 1979 and made singles for various companies in the early '80s. Their recording of "I Heard It in a Love Song" was a top 30 R&B hit in 1980.

According to Whitehead's official biography, McFadden & Whitehead wrote "Back Stabbers" for the O'Jays as the first of 37 gold or platinum records for the team and Philadelphia International Records. As writers and producers, they were responsible for such classics as "Bad Luck" and "Wake Up Everybody" for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.

Whitehead also wrote songs for The Intruders, Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass, The Jacksons, Archie Bell and The Drells, Lou Rawls, Freddie Jackson and Melba Moore.