Obituary
On Sunday. December 6, 2009. we lost an unbelievable man, husband, father,
grandfather, uncle, friend, godfather, Grammy award- winning writer, producer,
leader, philosopher, intellectual, motivator, mentor, teacher, humanitarian, and
visionary. The great Teddy Vann left us after a year-long battle with cancer.
Teddy’ was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. He left high
school early; formal education could not feed the mind of a genius. Teddy was,
without question, a genius. He had a mathematical, analytical mind. He spoke
multiple languages and he loved the expressions on people’s faces when he spoke
Yiddish. He loved the power and beauty of words. He was a thinker and life-long
student — a non-conformist, who challenged the status quo, questioned much of
what others accepted, and pushed for young people to think out of the box and
stretch their creative minds.
Back in New York City. song book filled with fresh work. Teddy Vann hit the city
streets in search of a creative outlet. The story, as Teddy told it, was that
one day he walked into legendary music executive, Morris Levy’s office with his
work, showed him some music, and played him some tunes. Levy loved everything
Teddy played. Levy realized instantly the wonder that was young Teddy V/ann.
Enamored by Teddy, Levy allowed the young writer access to several songwriting
projects, including landing the first of his many hits performed by singing
sensation Johnny Thunder who made Teddy s “Loop De Loop” into a smash hit in
1963. Teddy also tried his hand as a recording artist, singing a few songs he
had written and produced. He even ended up performing on an episode of Dick
Clark’s American Bandstand in front of a gang of screaming teens. The fans loved
him, but Teddy didn’t love the stage. Deciding he would focus professionally as
a producer/songwriter, Teddy would score several more hits. Teddy Vann has 140
songs registered at BMI. He participated in a number of projects, including
“Tales of the Dixie Drifter” that included Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Sam
Cooke, and Bob Dylan. He wrote and produced the adventures of Akila Jamila “The
Beautiful Black Princess and the Five Treasures of Life.” Other artists he
worked with include Estelle of the Ronettes, Lou Donaldson. John Fogerty, Donna
Summers. and many more. Teddy always stressed the importance of one’s autonomy
over one’s work and ideas. He was approached by many to bring his work to other
people in the industry like Puff and JayZ, and artists like Whitney Houston, but
he was reluctant because he always wanted to maintain ownership over his work.
Teddy fell in love and married his soul mate Wanling, a beautiful, intelligent
woman, also a Brooklyn native. During the late 1960s, Teddy, coming to a
stronger sense of self (he liked to tell people and coined the phrase
“born-again African”). and perhaps spurred by the climate of the times -- the
civil rights movement, the Black Panthers -- let his hair grow natural, and gave
his children traditional African names. His three children, Akim, Kayode and
Chinyere, sported huge afros, easily recognized on their regular appearances on
Sesame Street in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Teddy and his family settled into and raised
their family in a home in Lefferts Gardens.
Teddy and his family hosted the first of many week-long celebrations of
Kwanzaa honoring African culture and heritage. Many who knew him at the time are
quick to state how he introduced them to celebrating Kwanzaa ... to bring it to
their section of Brooklyn. Each subsequent year, the celebrations grew bigger,
better, drawing hundreds out to partake in the festivities — many from different
races, different faiths. Attempting to empower children of color. he created
songs like Santa Claus Is A Black Man, a song way before its time: and he
wrote and produced "The Adventures of Colored Man” starring James Earl
Jones. At his Brooklyn home, he reached out to kids he realized had talent --
some through basketball, lie was known to many as an incredible shooting coach,
raising some street players to go on to play college and professional ball, and
others to go on to become doctors, lawyers, and other professional leaders. He
even created and wrote a book called Basketball and Mathematical Learning
Adventure in which he rekindled the mathematical aptitude of young Black
students. He reached others through chess; Teddy was a brilliant chess player
and was often in the company of ranked and master chess players. And of course,
he reached others through music. He worked and developed many talents, vocally
trained many singers, including a young soon-to-be-known Luther Vandross. His
home for years was occupied by the youth he took under his wing. Teddy never
lost any of his passions for the empowerment of youth, educating Black kids
about race relations, sports, chess and music.
In 1991, Teddy won the music industry’s coveted Grammy Award for writing and
producing “The Power Of Love /Love Power” as performed by his former protégé
Luther Vandross.
Always a proud man, but moving without the gloss of showbiz, Teddy kept it low,
even though his voice, his words, his guidance were strong in the community.
Youth dubbed him the real BK Cosby. Earlier this year, right after he. his wife,
and his son did it big down in Washington, D.C. for the President’s
inauguration, he was diagnosed with cancer, thus beginning his year-long bout
with the disease. Round after round of tests, treatments, hopes and projections,
he fought; he fought really hard. He never gave up, nor did he give up in
schooling us. the hundreds of kids he raised in every walk of life. Surrounded
by the young ball players, doctors. layers. singers. songwriters, actors,
authors, personalities he raised, he continued to push us. The closer he
got, the harder he got with us. During his last weeks, he was working on a
remake of one of his songs. He had a crew of 10 people working around the clock
in his basement studio, surrounded by a sea of empowering, thought-provoking
books and his encased Grammy sitting there, perhaps a reminder to us all of the
many things he accomplished.
Sunday morning. December 6, 2009, a great man passed away peacefully. Teddy Vann
left us all, and those who had the opportunity to be blessed first hand by his
power know full well that in some way, this great man left us all in a better
place. On December 6th, we lost a powerful leader, a father, a mentor, a hero to
so many.
Teddy leaves behind to cherish his memory, his beloved wife, Wanling Vann; three
children: Akim Vann Ossé (and her husband Reggie Ossé), Kayode Teddy Vann (and
his wife Venus Velez Vann) and Chinyere Vann; seven grandchildren: Chuma, Chi,
Kai, Kara Sky, Samari, Kai-Ling, Lula; two brothers, nieces, nephews, other
relatives, in-laws, and a myriad of friends. He also leaves behind a host of
“sons” and “daughters” and “brothers” and “sisters” who live on to carry out his
legacy.
Santa Claus was indeed a Black man, and the gifts that he gave to the world are
priceless and timeless. Peace & Love Power Teddy Vann. Thank you for
blessing our lives. You will be greatly missed, but your legacy lives on
forever!
NOTE: The absence of Teddy Vann’s birth date is not
an oversight; it is intentionally omitted. in line with Teddy’s non-conformist
ways and his strong desire to never be defined by time, he never disclosed his
age. And we desire to respect and honor his and his family’s wishes to keep it
that way…
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