Saturday Night on to Sunday morning, this SOUL SALUTE for Thelma Houston, born May 7, 1946.
Some unfairly consider Thelma Houston a "one hit wonder" because of her biggest hit "Don't Leave Me This Way", a number one pop, soul and disco smash from the spring of 1977 that also won Thelma a grammy. But those who think of her as a "one hit wonder" are also likely ignorant of the music industry and Thelma's long road within it.
She recorded for years before scoring a hit song and for decades after had many minor hits and club classics that make her one of the most respected divas in music.
Thelma's biggest hit was on Motown, but the song was originally from the Philadelphia sound.
This is the ORIGINAL "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes with Teddy Pendergrass on vocals. Recorded in 1975 for their "Wake Up Everybody" album.
Thelma recorded it in 1976 and as they say (regarding what I said above) The rest is history.
Thelma's version!
And one of my favorite songs from the mid 1980's. Thelma Houston's "You Use To Hold Me so Tight"
Over the years with the lackluster success of her music releases, Thelma made many acting appearances in television and film and became a friend of the LGBT community. Today Thelma continues to perform live and in 2010 was the headline entertainment for Augusta Georgia's first every GAY PRIDE festival.
This is what I captured with a cell phone at the 2010 Augusta Pride so please excuse the poor sound quality. You had to be there and you KNOW she did her thing well.
She sang her signature hit last but with an encore of Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much" and she sang some Marvin Gaye and other Motown hits to an audio track. Her voice and work with the crowd was strong and she also brought her adult son on stage to dance.
Thelma Houston, well deserving of the title "Diva" and for her birthday, a SOUL SALUTE!
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