John Whitehead, a prominent R&B artist best known for the 1979 hit song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” was shot dead outside his home, police said.
Whitehead, 55, and another man were working on a vehicle Tuesday when they were shot by two gunmen, police said.
Whitehead was shot in the neck and collapsed. Ohmed Johnson, who was shot in the buttocks, was in good condition Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
“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?”
Investigators said Wednesday that Johnson, not Whitehead, may have been the target of the shooting.
“We believe there was some confrontation that took place some time ago,” Capt. Richard Ross said. “We haven’t firmed anything up yet, but we’re proceeding in this direction.”
He said the gunmen fired more than 10 shots from handguns and then fled, and police believe the shooting was not random.
No suspect has been arrested.
Whitehead and Gene McFadden formed a group called the Epsilons in their youth and were discovered by Otis Redding, touring with the legendary performer in the 1960s, according to their Web site.
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.”
“Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and reached No. 13 on the pop chart. The song became an unofficial anthem for the Phillies as they charged to a World Series championship in 1980 and the Eagles as they reached the Super Bowl in 1981.