Taazmayia “Taaz” Melanie Lang was a Philadelphia “it” girl in the 1970s who hung out with stars like Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, and even her son’s friends, the Jackson 5, when they came to town. By all accounts, she was well-loved and liked by everyone. Still, the former beautician was shot down in her early 30s outside of her home, and her murder remains unsolved despite rumors that her former lover and client might have had something to do with her death.
The one-time wife of former Philadelphia Eagles fullback Israel “Izzy” Lang was more than just popular and fond of hanging out with celebrities, she was a businesswoman who at one point was the manager of R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass.
Her career as a music manager was short-lived, as she was gunned down a year after becoming Pendergrass’ manager when he left the soul group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.
Pendergrass was originally a drummer for the group but was tapped to sing the lead on many of its biggest songs. He believed he should have received the lion’s share of what the group was bringing in, but he was not. Popular lore also suggests the emerging sex symbol wanted the group’s name to be changed to Teddy Pendergrass and the Blue Notes, and when it was not, he left the act in 1975.
This is when Taaz stepped in.
The Manager Extraordinaire
Taaz became not just the baritone’s manager but his business partner, shaping his career into one that rivaled those of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and many other soulful singing sex symbols of the time. Under this arrangement, Pendergrass reportedly gave Taaz approximately fifty shares in his Teddy Bear Production company.
She would lend him $15,043.00, according to court papers, to help launch his career as a solo artist. Somewhere around this time, Taaz became his lover but broke it off after about two months.
Through her capacity as a manager, she went to New York City on April 14, 1977, to tie up the last details of Pendergrass’ first tour after he released his self-titled debut album earlier that year.
When she returned to Philadelphia from the Big Apple, she met Pendergrass and his band on their tour bus, which was scheduled to leave around 10 p.m. from Broad and Locust in Center City. Their first trip was to a stop in Buffalo, New York.
Taaz did not leave with them and decided to go back home. She called her mother, Eva Ritter, and said, “I’ve got something to tell you, but I can’t tell you what it is until I get there.” That would be the last thing she said to her mother.
The Unsolved Murder of a Rising Music Executive
When Taaz arrived at her Mt. Airy home, while at the front door to get in, someone shot her from what authorities suggest was 15 feet away, sending a bullet into her left arm. The bullet traveled through her arm and then into her chest, killing her immediately. She died at the age of 33.
Immediately, whispers were suggesting that there had been a hit on her. At the time, there was speculation that Pendergrass was displeased with how his management contract favored Taaz and that she refused to renegotiate the terms. Rumors that the soul singer was connected to local gangsters also started to float.
Investigators from the Philadelphia Police Department stated that the person who killed her probably didn’t expect the bullet that went into her arm and traveled to her heart to be fatal. They also believe that the person must have been hiding in the bushes near her home.
Detective Edward Hughes said at the time, “If someone was set to kill her, it wasn’t a real professional job. If the bullet doesn’t go through her arm, all she has is a serious arm injury. But anything’s possible, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had been sent there to scare her.”
Luminaries of all kinds attended her funeral at the Second Macedonia Baptist Church to say their final farewells. Lola Falana read a poem in her honor. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were in also attendance, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson eulogized her. Taaz was laid to rest at Chelten Hills Cemetery.
Police say that no one from Philadelphia International Records cooperated with them while they were trying to piece together the murder.
Watchin a Showtime doc “Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me” & whew shit. He was *right* on the cusp of being huge, had total package of voice & sex appeal. But that Taaz Lang murder & cut brake lines on multiple cars & no brakes on the one he crashed?? 👀 tragic story
— Pippi Loansgotme (@mutual_feelings) February 20, 2019
The Remorse of the Last One to See Her Alive
One music industry linked to the murder was Jo-Jo Tynes, an employee of Teddy Bear Productions. He was reportedly with Taazz when she was shot, helping her out of her car around 11:30 p.m. after they left Pendergrass and the band on the tour bus.
According to reports, Tynes walked her to her door but turned to get something out of the trunk of Pendergrass’ Mercedes. He would say he did not see the shooter and could not get to her before she died.
Tynes’ fiancée, Kim Oliver, said after he died in 2013 that Taaz’s death bothered him to the end.
“The police questioned Jo-Jo, but he was as baffled as everybody over what had happened. It always bothered him,” she said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer.
People also thought that he might have had something to do with the murder because he was there and saw nothing. Some people suspected Pendergrass of being involved with his death.
‘Never Gotten Over Her Murder,’ Pendergrass Said of Her Death
The “TKO” singer denied any connection to the shooting and spoke about finding out about her death in his autobiography, “Truly Blessed.”
He wrote, “Taaz was tending to business but returned to Philly in time to say goodbye before I left. We promised to talk the next day.”
“As the rest of the entourage checked into the hotel, a desk clerk said, ‘Mr. Pendergrass, you have an urgent message from Philadelphia.’ I dialed the number and was informed that Taaz had been murdered. I was in shock,” he continued.
“I have never gotten over her murder,” the singer confessed. Pendergrass, who became paralyzed from the waist down following a single-car crash four years after Taaz’s death in 1982, died in 2010.
Ritter Vs. Pendergrass
In 1986, Taaz’s estate sued Pendergrass, alleging he had never paid them royalties owed them based on a 1976 contract he signed.
Aug. 1 of that year, he signed an agreement for one year with options for renewal for three additional one-year periods. Within that month, the singer entered into a different contract with Assorted Music Co., Inc. that was supposed to last until Oct. 3, 1978, with options for renewal. It also stipulated that Assorted would pay royalties to Pendergrass for all recordings produced and sold by them.
On Sept. 17, 1976, Pendergrass, Taaz, and Assorted purportedly entered an agreement where Assorted would directly pay Taaz 10 percent of all royalties owed to Pendergrass under their agreement. Additionally, Assorted was instructed to provide the manager with copies of the royalty statements given to Pendergrass.
Taaz’s mother believed that she should have received 10 percent of his royalties, even though her daughter was dead, because she oversaw her estate, according to the Ritter vs. Pendergrass lawsuit.
The courts would dismiss claims made by the estate, only allowing them to go to trial a claim that he owed $15,000 that he borrowed — which would go to her heir.
Her then-8-year-old son, Izzy Jr., was left as her sole heir and beneficiary.
No arrests have ever been made in the young woman’s murder, and despite all of the fighting over money, Pendergrass died with only $100,000 in his bank account.
Different family members spent almost years in court disputing rights to his estate, including his home and valuable music catalog. However, amidst the fighting, his mansion went into foreclosure, and they lost his property.
