Thelma Houston, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 47^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston.   

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he vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 47^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Don’t Leave Me This Way”, performed by 🎙 Thelma Houston.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

“Don’t leave me this way / I can’t survive, I can’t stay alive / Without your love, oh baby.” Those iconic lyrics hail from the beloved classic record, 🎵 “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was written by the power duo of 🎼 ✍ Kenneth Gamble and 🎼 ✍ Leon Huff, known for being proponents of the Philly soul sound.  Additionally, Gamble and Huff wrote alongside 🎼 ✍ Cary Gilbert. Originally, 🎙 Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, featuring 🎙 Teddy Pendergrass on lead vocals, performed this record.  It appears on the iconic Philly soul collective’s 1975 album, 💿 Wake Up Everybody.  Although the original is fab, another R&B standout, 🎙 Thelma Houston, would have more success and arguably, own the definitive version (🎙 The Communards also famously covered “Don’t Leave Me This Way” in 1986).

Houston had the hit of a lifetime on her hands, period.  Her sole 🏆 Grammy win comes courtesy of “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” winning for Best Female R&B Performance, deservingly. Beyond the Grammy win, Houston topped the Billboard Hot 100. This disco gem was everywhere by 1977, originally released in late 1976, and appearing on the album, 💿 Any Way You Like It. 🎛 Hal Davis serves as the producer, doing a fabulous job of giving Houston the perfect backdrop. Houston sings superbly, exhibiting ample personality on this love-filled number.  Besides the famous first verse, the chorus is the centerpiece, lacking no shortage of energy. Houston certainly rises to the occasion:

“(Ahh) Baby, my heart is full of love and desire for you

Now come on down and do what you got to do

You started this fire down in my soul

Now can’t you see it’s burning out of control?

Come on, satisfy the need in me

‘Cause only your good loving can set me free

(Set me free, set me free).”

Simply glorious! Notably, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” became a gay anthem 🏳️‍🌈 in 1980s and 90s with the AIDS epidemic, taking on a far different meaning when viewed from a ‘straighter lens.’

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 Final Thoughts 💭 

🎵 “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is one of those timeless classics. The 🎙 Thelma Houston version is my go-to – it’s EPIC! That said, the original and the later version by The Communards are awesome too. A stellar voice and groovy disco production – yes please! #THROWBACK VIBEZ

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🎙 Thelma Houston • 💿 Any Way You Like It • 🏷 Motown • 🗓 1976

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Thelma Houston, “Don’t Leave Me This Way”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 47 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash,  Motown, The Musical Hype]

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