John Cavadus Whitehead (July 10, 1948 – May 11, 2004) was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as one of the key members of the

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. I ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, and was one-half of the successful team of

McFadden & Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...

with

Gene McFadden Gene McFadden (January 28, 1949 – January 27, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as one of the key members of the Philadelphia International record label, and was one-half of the successful team o ...

. McFadden and Whitehead wrote many hits for Philadelphia International artists such as

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

and

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in ...

, and had their own hit with "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" in 1979. He was the father of both members of mid 1990s duo the Whitehead Brothers, and received an

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

Death

On May 11, 2004, John Cavadus Whitehead was fatally shot, possibly in a case of mistaken identity, while fixing a car outside his home in Philadelphia. Another man with him at the time suffered light injuries from the multiple shots fired by two gunmen, who fled the scene. As of 2013, the murder remains unsolved. Whitehead was 55 years old and had converted to Islam in 1996 and is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Grave
1948 births 2004 deaths 2004 murders in the United States 20th-century American composers 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people African-American songwriters African-American Muslims American soul musicians Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Converts to Islam Deaths by firearm in Pennsylvania Male murder victims Murdered African-American people American murder victims Musicians from Philadelphia People murdered in Pennsylvania Record producers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Unsolved murders in the United States {{US-songwriter-stub

Death

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