Neeley considers himself a baritone, and is known for his extremely wide vocal range and rock screams—notably the G above high C (G5) in "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar.
Neeley was born in Ranger, Texas. He signed his first record deal in 1965, at age 22, with Capitol Records. He and his group, The Teddy Neeley Five, recorded an album titled Teddy Neeley. They played the club circuit for years, and their name (on a marquee) appeared in the pilot episode of Dragnet 1967. In 1968, Neeley starred in the Los Angeles productions of Larry Norman's rock musicals Alison and Birthday for Shakespeare, with Norman and Richard Hatch. Then, in 1969, Neeley played the lead role of Claude in both the New York and Los Angeles productions of Hair. He also appeared on the controversial, unaired episode of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that prompted CBS to cancel the series.
Neeley's work with Tom O'Horgan, the director of Hair, led to him being called when O'Horgan was hired to stage Jesus Christ Superstar for Broadway. Neeley originally auditioned for the role of Judas, seeing it as a great opportunity to play a character few understand.

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