Philadelphia soul singer John Whitehad shot to death

From Rock & Rap Confidential:

JOHN WHITEHEAD SHOT DEAD
He was half of singing duo McFadden & Whitehead

Sad news out of Philadelphia. The man who
helped sing "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," John
Whitehead, has been shot and killed.

According to reports, Whitehead, 55, and
another man were working on a vehicle when
they were shot by two gunmen, who fled the
scene, police said.

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

"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?," the Associated Press
reported.

At press time, no motive is known,
nor have any arrests been made.

WPVI-TV reported that Whitehead's partner
in the singing group McFadden & Whithead,
Gene McFadden, went to the scene and
stood there trembling.

Besides writing and recording the 1979
classic R&B hit, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now,"
the duo also wrote several hits 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"
and "Where Are All My Friends" among others.

Kerry should use it as his theme song. It would be a great improvement.

This is so very sad.

"Standing on the steps of her son's house, Mary Whitehead talked of the song "I'll Always Love My Mama." The piece, which was recorded by the Intruders and penned by McFadden and Whitehead, "was written for me," she said."

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/8649302.htm?1c

I'm glad she has that song, losing your baby is a tough go.

Thank you for this post, because when I heard the news I didn't recognize his name, and your post lets me know the songs he was involved with.