Saturday, October 16, 2010
Sharon Brown
Sharon Brown
Sharon Brown who is best remembered for her huge early 1980s dance hit, "I Specialize In Love" on Profile Records is interviewed by DiscoMusic.com member, Dayna Newman.
Interview with singer and songwriter Sharon Brown kindly conducted and provided by DiscoMusic.com member, Dayna Newman.Hey Miss Sharon, Thank you for allowing me to pick your brain and interview you. And it's safe to say you are far from a one trick pony. You have accomplished so much in your career with much more to come I'm sure.
First off I must say that I LOVE your new single "Thinking of You" it's fresh hip and it would keep me on the dance floor and I'm not just going to stay on the floor for any ole song~! Where and how can we pick up a copy of "Thinking of You?"
Sharon Brown...
Well thank you Dayna! My new song "Thinking of You " can be purchased direct from me at my web page, which is: http://www.myspace.com/sharonbrownispecializeinlove. A one trick pony! L.O.L. I have never heard that saying before, that's real funny! A one Hit Wonder is what I have been referred to!
L.O.L... I hate when someone is labeled a one hit wonder or my saying because the "Hit" is so fabulous... People have short attention spans as a general rule and so many artists are listed as one hit wonders who definitely don't belong in that category.
OK next question, I have heard this, but wanted to ask you: Is it true that "I Specialize in Love" is the number one most requested song in dance clubs? I wouldn't doubt it, as it still stands up to any dance song that has ever been put out.
Sharon Brown...
Yes, It was the number one requested song in the clubs and it kept you on the dance floor!
OKAY~!! It sure did and still does. I'm not scared to fly up to the DJ booth and ask them to play my Jam~!!
Back to "I Specialize in Love." That song is legendary and just plain ole fabulous~! How does it feel to have a song that has made such a contribution to the dance industry and will live on forever? Because songs come and go and most are easily forgotten but that will never be the case with "I Specialize in Love."
Sharon Brown...
It feels great! Some times though I say to myself " It would have been the right thing to do if Profile Records " Cory Robbins And Steve Plotnicky along with the biggest crook of all Eddie O'louglin would have paid me!
That's a damn shame, I hear that quite often, especially with the old school girls...Sharon you have worked with some wonderful producers and artists which one or ones did you really enjoy working with the most?
Sharon Brown...
Norman Whitfield! He has taught me all I know about writing and producing music!
Norman was the only person in my life who said to me "You do not need a producer, You can produce yourself " and I have been doing just that ever since! Along with Curtis Mayfield and Hank Cosby from Motown, these men have all took time to teach me. Curtis taught me to pay close attention to lyrics and Hank taught me the commercial format of songwriting.
Norman gave me free reign in the recording studio and gave me the push and confidence to do what I love to do, he also dropped a hint on my way out of the studio one day that my boyfriend had to go! I did not understand at that moment, but after many years of bull with that boyfriend then I married the clown did I realize what Norman had meant... The man was clearly in the way!
I have lost contact with Norman. I wish somehow we could re-connect; I owe him big time! I would just love to be able to say to him THANK YOU NORMAN! I have gone on to win the "BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD" for " I Specialize in Love" and Norman said that I could! It would be so wonderful to see him again.
Well maybe he will read this because if anyone wants to know anything about disco or dance music they come to DiscoMusic.com.
You wrote a song for legendary rock group "Blood Sweat & Tears called "Love Looks Good On You." How did that come about and did you enjoy working with them?
Sharon Brown...
Well, Heck Yeah!
BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS, How good was that! My very first big gig ever!
I had been down town New York City looking around with music only on my mind and I happened to pass by the CBS recording studio and I went in the building and the security guard was in the lobby, he questioned me as to what and where was I going! I said to him I have no place to go, but I would love to know who was in the building recording at that moment and he told me that " Blood Sweat & Tears was in the building recording on the second floor. I asked if I could go up and peek in and he took a real long look at me and said OK! You go up and come right back!
I went up and I peeked in the room and there was Hank Cosby sitting at the controls and he saw me and said can I help you? I said Yes! I am Sharon Brown and I am a singer/songwriter! He laughed and stopped the session, signaled the group to come into the room and said meet this cocky woman who says she's a songwriter and a singer!
Well Bobby Colomby the drummer for the group said to me are you a Jew? I replied why do you ask? He said because you are wearing a Star of David! I knew then no person would understand why I wore the Star of David and I was clearly a woman of African blood! All I can say now is if any one person asked me why I wore and wear the Star Of David I would just say to them " RAGGAMUFFIN RULES" L.O.L.
Anyway Hank Cosby and Bobby Colomby put me to the test and sent me home that day with a track and said to me: "bring this track back tomorrow and have a song ready to record!" I DID! "Love Looks Good on You!"
How exciting and wonderful for you and for them as well because they had the benefit of using your talent.
Girl~! I was horrified when I saw Carol Douglas try and make you look shady on the People's Court and I saw it on Television not YouTube. BUT everyone saw that the judge was not buying her mess, I felt embarrassed for her, I respect her as an artist but question her morality and ethics after seeing that and I don't care if she sees this, L.O.L....
How did that make you feel and have you spoken to Carol Douglas since then?
Sharon Brown...
Yes, I have spoken to Carol since the court date! We have recorded a song as the "Diva All-Stars" for Carol Williams called "Don't Leave Me This Way" along with Fonda Rae, Alison Williams, Peggi Blu, and Wanda Dee.
I am a bigger person than Carol tried to portray me to be. I never told the court the real deal about why we ended up in court. I did not really want to air Ms Douglas's dirty mess! She did however piss me off to the point that I would not ever trust her as a person again in life! However Carol Douglas is one of the very best melodic singers I know and would love to write and produce for her. She just can not seem to stay focused enough to get the job done and is always up to no good!
Carol and I had been produced by Eddie O'Louglin and he did a dirty thing when he dropped Carol from the label and signed me. Only after letting Carol hear the new song "I Specialize In Love" and she thinking the song was for her, when Eddie burst her little bubble and said no, this song is for my new artist "SHARON BROWN" and our deal is over. Have a great life!
After that harsh blow Carol has always wanted to meet me and when she did I thought we would be great friends after all Eddie had robbed us both. NOT! She was so sneaky to the point she caused tons of trouble with and for me along with a host of others and I still love her and wish her the very best. I think PRAYER! Is in order!
"FAINT..." Girl she sounds like an OAK TREE. "full of shade" L.O.L... I feel sorry for people like that. I never knew Carol Douglas thought she would be singing "I Specialize In Love." Like I said before, I respect her as an artist and she can blow, but I can not imagine anyone, but you turning out that song~!!
I recently did interviews with Linda Clifford and Melba Moore and am proud to add you to my list of Legendary Divas, are you friends with either of these lovely talented ladies?
Sharon Brown...
RESPECT! Is what we have for each other, I would not say we are friends, but I will say we do love each other and would love working together.
I have to give it to you old school diva's you look fabulous, your skin, your hair and you have kept your shape. Time has been very kind to you, what do you do to maintain your look?
Sharon Brown...
STARVE! L.O.L. Exercise and drink plenty of WATER! Ladies, water is the key to health.
I feel that, I drink about a gallon a day sometimes more, I always have a huge insulated cup of water within reach.
What artists do you listen to these days, what's in your DVD player right now?
Sharon Brown...
REGGAE MUSIC! The Marley Family! Mind Control by S. Marley and Ky-Marni Marley also Damian Marley Jr. Gong also " Sizzla", Capelton King Shango, Third World, Rita Marley and the list goes on and on RASTA FARI!
Well as Stevie Wonder said, BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN. L.O.L.
Tell us something about Sharon Brown that people don't know, something fun, silly, anything. We love all the info we can get on our favorite divas.
Sharon Brown...
People don't know that I am really a funny girl! I have such a sense of humor that sometimes I think I have missed my real calling! I am also Master Certified in Microsoft Office 2000
And I swear I can dance! I can not! But you can't tell me different.
I Specialize In Love.
Oh I know you're a funny girl with a great sense of humor . On the phone you had me laughing and carryin on!
Sharon, Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings with us. You have given us some great insight into your world and I wish you more and more success you are a lovely lady inside and out... PEOPLE, don't forget to go to http://www.myspace.com/sharonbrownispecializeinlove to purchase Miss Sharon Browns fabulous new single "Thinking of You"
Sharon Brown...
Dayna, Girl you are one funny sister! L.O.L. I think you are too FAB!
You have my blessing!
Many New Blessings
I Empress
Sharon Brown
I Specialize In Love
Can't Stop the Music
Production and reception
The film was shot at MGM studios in Hollywood with location shooting in New York City and San Francisco. A few weeks prior to the film's release, Jenner and Perrine hosted a TV special, Allan Carr's Magic Night, to promote the film.The film's producer, Allan Carr, was coming off a massive worldwide hit with the pop musical Grease when shooting began in May 1979 at the height of the disco craze.
However by the time of its release during the summer of 1980 the disco genre had not only peaked in the United States but was experiencing a backlash there. The film received scathing reviews and audiences stayed away. The soundtrack album was more well-received, going top 10 in the UK. The film did well in Australia. At a cost estimated at $20,000,000, the film was a colossal failure financially, bringing in only a tenth of that in gross revenue.Carr's next film, Grease 2, brought in more than twice as much on its opening weekend as Can't Stop the Music grossed in its entire run. Even though it was considered a failure, Grease 2 nearly made back its investment in the U.S. gross alone.Can't Stop the Music coincided with the first annual Golden Raspberry Awards, and was nominated in every category except "Supporting Actor". It became the recipient of its first "Worst Picture" and "Worst Screenplay" awards.
Since its initial failure Can't Stop the Music has gained something of a cult status as a camp film. Released on DVD in 2002, the film has been screened at gay film festivals, including the 2008 London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
Plot
Songwriter Jack Morell (Guttenberg) gets a break DJing at local disco Saddle Tramps. His roommate Samantha Simpson (Perrine), a supermodel newly retired at the peak of her success, sees the response to a song he wrote for her ("Samantha") and agrees to use her connections to get him a record deal. Her connection, ex-boyfriend Steve Waits (Sand), president of Marrakech Records (a reference to Village People record label Casablanca Records), is more interested in getting back with her than in Jack's music (and more interested in taking business calls than in wooing Samantha), but agrees to listen to a demo.Samantha decides Jack's vocals won't do, and recruits neighbor and Saddle Tramps waiter/go-go boy Felipe Rose (the Indian), fellow model David "Scar" Hodo (the construction worker, who daydreams of stardom in the solo number "I Love You To Death"), and finds Randy Jones (the cowboy) on the streets of Greenwich Village, offering dinner in return for their participation. Meanwhile, Simpson's former agent Sydne Channing (Grimes) orders Girl Friday Lulu Brecht (Marilyn Sokol) to attend, hoping to lure the star back. Ron White (Jenner), a lawyer from St. Louis, is mugged by an elderly woman on his way to deliver a cake Samantha's sister sent, and shows up on edge. Brecht gets Jack high, which unnerves him when her friend Alicia Edwards (Altovise Davis) brings singing cop Ray Simpson, but Jack records the quartet on "Magic Night". Ron, pawed all night by the man-hungry Brecht, is overwhelmed by the culture shock of it all, and walks out.
The next day Samantha runs into Ron, who apologizes, proffers the excuse that he's a Gemini, and follows her home. Spilling leftover lasagna on himself, Simpson and Morell help him off with his trousers before Morell leaves and Simpson and White spend the night. Newly interested in helping, Ron offers his Wall Street office to hold auditions. There, Glenn M. Hughes, the leatherman climbs atop a piano for a rendition of "Danny Boy", and he and Alex Briley, the G.I. join up. Now a sextet, they get their name from an offhand remark by Ron's socialite mother Norma (Barbara Rush). Ron's boss, Richard Montgomery, overwhelmed by the carnival atmosphere, insists the firm not represent the group, and Ron quits.
Ron's new idea for rehearsal space is the YMCA, where a production number set to the song YMCA features its athletic denizens in various states of undress (the film is one of the few PG offerings to feature male full frontal nudity). The group cut a demo ("Liberation") for Marrakech, but Steve sees limited appeal and Samantha refuses his paltry contract. Reluctant to use her savings, they decide to self-finance by throwing a pay-party.
To bankroll the party Samantha acquiesces to Channing's plea to return for a TV ad campaign for milk, on the condition the Village People are featured. The lavish number "Milkshake" begins as Simpson pours milk for six little boys in the archetypal costumes with the promise they'll grow up to be the Village People. The advertisers want nothing to do with such a concept, and refuse to air the spot. Norma then steps in to invite the group to debut at her charity fundraiser in San Francisco. Samantha lures Steve by promising a romantic weekend but Ron is taken aback by the inference she'd go through with the seduction, and Samantha breaks up with him. On his private jet, Steve prepares for a tryst but it's Jack and his former chorine mother Helen (June Havoc) who show up, to hash out a contract. Initially reluctant, Helen seduces Steve with her kreplach and before long they're negotiating the t-shirt merchandising for the Japanese market.
In the dressing room before the show, Ron is relieved to learn Samantha didn't travel with Steve, and proposes. At one point, Montgomery shows up to rehire Ron as junior partner representing the group. Following a set by The Ritchie Family ("Give Me a Break"), the Village People make a triumphant debut, singing "Can't Stop The Music" to a cheering crowd.
Critical response
- "Can't Stop the Music ushers in a whole new concept in entertainment -- it's the first all-singing, all-dancing horror film; the Dawn of the Dead of the disco era." Newsweek
- "The most conspicuous box office calamity of the summer." Film Review
- "The Village People, along with ex-Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, have a long way to go in the acting stakes." - Variety[edit] Golden Raspberry Awards and nominations
- 1980 Golden Raspberry Awards
- Won: Worst Picture
- Won: Worst Screenplay
- Nominated: Worst Actor (Bruce Jenner)
- Nominated: Worst Actress (Valerie Perrine)
- Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress (Marilyn Sokol)
- Nominated: Worst Director (Nancy Walker)
- Nominated: Worst "Original" Song ((You) Can't Stop the Music)
Songs
- New York - The Sound of the City (David London)
- Samantha (David London)
- I Love You to Death
- Sophistication (The Ritchie Family)
- Give Me a Break (The Ritchie Family)
- Liberation
- Magic Night
- Y.M.C.A.
- Milkshake
- Can't Stop the Music
DVD release
Can't Stop the Music was released on Region 1 DVD on April 16, 2002.Eclectic cast and crew
Can't Stop The Music was Bruce Jenner's film debut after becoming known as the World's Greatest Athlete, the result of three world record-setting performances in the Decathlon, capped by a Gold medal win at the 1976 Olympic Games. Jenner's record stood from 1975 until shortly before this film's 1980 release. Despite rumors that Jenner had previously turned down the role of Superman in the 1978 film, the book The Making of Superman by David Michael Petrou and a February 1980 People Magazine article claim that Jenner tested for, but was never offered, that role. Can't Stop The Music remains Jenner's only feature film role to date.The film's supporting cast includes two two-time Tony Award winners, Tammy Grimes and Russell Nype, June Havoc (sister of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee), Altovise Davis (wife of Sammy Davis, Jr.), character actor Jack Weston, and Emmy-winner Leigh Taylor-Young. The Village People auditioners included Blackie Lawless (a member of the glam-punk group New York Dolls and heavy metal group W.A.S.P.) and James Marcel (who would later find greater success with the name James Wilder). Background dancers included Perri Lister, girlfriend of Billy Idol and mother to his son, and Peter Tramm, who would go on to appear in dozens of music videos and double for Kevin Bacon in Footloose.
Jack's song "Samantha" is credited in the film as being sung by David London, which was the pseudonym for rock singer Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen, who was the lead singer for several rock bands including the Grammy-winning band Toto from 1984-1986, singing on their top 30 hit "Stranger In Town". London/Frederiksen also sings a second song on the soundtrack, "The Sound of the City".The band's silver and white costumes in the "Milkshake" sequence and red costumes in the finale sequences were designed by Tony- and Oscar-winning designer Theoni V. Aldredge.
Two of the band's three biggest hits—"In The Navy" and "Macho Man"—do not appear in the film, though in reference to the latter, Perrine wears a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "Macho Woman" as she jogs through the men's locker room at the YMCA.
The film's director, Nancy Walker, a theater, film and television star since the 1940s, had been nominated for two Tonys, four Golden Globes, and eight Emmys.She had added directing to her list of credits with episodes of popular 1970s TV sit-coms, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, in which she created her best-known role, Ida Morgenstern. Can't Stop The Music was her lone effort at film direction, and Walker turned her attention back to acting in television.
It contains songs not only by the Village People but also by David London and The Ritchie Family. The album also features a re-make of Y.M.C.A. with lead vocals by Ray Simpson. Simpson's re-make never charted and was not released as a single. The original version of YMCA with lead Vocals by Victor Willis was, and still remains a huge hit for the Village People, reaching #2 on the Billboard chart.
This is the first Village People album that was not certified Gold by the RIAA.
Track listing
- "Can't Stop the Music"
- "Samantha" (David London)
- "Give Me a Break" (The Ritchie Family)
- "Liberation"
- "Magic Night"
- "The Sound of the City" (David London)
- "Milkshake"
- "Y.M.C.A."
- "I Love You to Death"
- "Sophistication" (The Ritchie Family)
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Ritchie Family
Career
The four original members were not related; the group was created by Jacques Morali who soon after also created Village People. The group took its name from record producer Ritchie Rome, and originally consisted of four singers Jean Davis, Cassandra Wooten, Gwen Oliver (who eventually married musician Fred Wesley), and Nadine Felder. They were originally known as Honey & The Bees. Then they were reformed as a trio with Cassandra Wooten, and Gwen Oliver as the new line-up. (Honey and the Bees was a totally different group) Honey and the Bees was managed by Jimmy Bishop, a successful Philadelphia radio personality. He also managed Barbara Mason. After Honey and the Bees disbanded, Cheryl Mason-Jacks, Gwendolyn Oliver and Cassandra Wooten begin singing with the idea to do background vocals. A few years before Nadine Felder and Cassandra Wooten had done background work for Jacques Morali. He called them a few years later when he wanted to form a group. By then, Gwen, Cheryl and Cassandra were preparing to get session work. Jacques liked their sound, and, thus, the Ritchie Family was born.Their first hit single, a reworking of the 1930s song "Brazil" reached the Top 20 in the United States in 1975, and the album, also titled Brazil, sold well. The following year they released the album Arabian Nights, and with it the single "The Best Disco In Town". The song was essentially a medley of recent disco songs linked together with an original chorus and it became a worldwide hit.
Their follow up albums Life is Music, which followed a 1930s theme, and African Queens were only mediocre successes. Each of these four albums was a concept album featuring songs of a similar theme as suggested by each album title. Each album also featured a long medley, usually running from 15 to 20 minutes.
By 1978, the three members had been replaced by Jacqui Smith-Lee, Theodosia "Dodie" Draher and Ednah Holt. Their 1978 album, American Generation, was a slight departure from disco and more in the style of europop, although one of the singles from it was called "I Feel Disco Good." The group abandoned the exotic and highly kitsch costumes of their earlier incarnation in favour of a more contemporary, sexually provocative style. This album was followed by the album "Bad Reputation", at which point Holt departed (and formed her own group Ednah Holt and Starluv) and was replaced by lead singer Vera Brown; the group enjoyed success with "Put Your Feet To The Beat."
The Ritchie Family lineup of Brown, Smith-Lee and Draher next recorded the Give Me A Break LP which contained the hits "Give Me A Break" and "Never Be Able to Set You Free." Continuing with album releases, the next was a markedly different partnership with Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi, the pair behind Change. The album they recorded was I'll Do My Best For You Baby; following that was All Night All Right. By the time of 1983's "All Night, All Right" lp, Dodie Draher had left the group and newcomer Linda James took over her spot.
In 1980 they joined Village People for the movie Can't Stop the Music. The film was a resounding failure and still appears on many critics' "worst ever" lists; however the soundtrack album sold well in some parts of the world. By this time disco music had already reached its peak, at least in the US.
Also in 1980, Wooten and Mason-Jacks sang background vocals on John Lennon's final album, Double Fantasy.
After deciding to split, when group owner Jacques Morali discovered he had AIDS, the group continued as Vera Brown and the Rich Girls for one song called "Too Much Too Fast" that crashed completely. Vera Brown has reformed The Ritchie Family, with Dodie Draher and Jacqui Smith-Lee, but without further releases.
With original members Wooten, Mason-Jacks and Oliver, the group achieved its highest grossing sales.
Discography
Singles
- 1975 "Brazil" / "Hot Trip"
- 1975 "Dance With Me" / "Lady Champagne"
- 1975 "Dance With Me" / "Pinball"
- 1976 "The Best Disco In Town" / "Part II"
- 1976 "Istanbul" / "Baby I’m On Fire"
- 1977 "Life Is Music" / "Lady Luck"
- 1977 "African Queens" / "Part II"
- 1977 "African Queens" / "Summerdance"
- 1977 "Quiet Village" / "Voodoo"
- 1977 "Quiet Village" / "Versions"
- 1978 "American Generation" / "Music Man"
- 1978 "American Generation" / "I Feel Disco Good"
- 1978 "Good In Love" / "I Feel Disco Good"
- 1978 "La Barbichette" / "Forever Dancing"
- 1979 "Where Are The Men?" / "Bad Reputation"
- 1979 "Put Your Feet To The Beat" / "Bad Reputation"
- 1979 "Put Your Feet To The Beat" / "Sexy Man"
- 1979 "It’s A Man’s World" / "Bad Reputation"
- 1980 "Give Me A Break" / "Bad Reputation"
- 1980 "All My Love" / "Bad Reputation"
- 1980 "All My Love" / "Versions"
- 1980 "I’ll Never Be Able To Set You Free" / "Not As Bad As It Seems"
- 1982 "I’ll Do My Best" / "You’ve Got Me Dancin’"
- 1982 "Walk With Me"
- 1982 "Real Love" / "Stop And Think"
- 1982 "Alright On The Night" / "You Can Always Count On Me"
- 1983 "All Night, All Right" / "Versions"
- 1983 "This Love’s On Me" / "Tonight I Need To Have Your Love"
- 1987 "The Best Disco In Town" (Remix) / "American Generation"
- 1995 "I’ll Do My Best" / "Versions"
- 1996 "I’ll Do My Best" / "Versions"
- 1997 "American Generation" / "Versions"
- 1997 "Brazil" samba mix and dub mix
- 1998 "The best disco in town" summer mega club mix/ radio mix
Albums
- 1975 Brazil
- 1976 Arabian Nights
- 1977 Life Is Music
- 1977 African Queens
- 1978 American Generation
- 1979 Bad Reputation
- 1980 Give Me A Break
- 1982 I’ll Do My Best
- 1983 All Night, All Right
Soundtracks
- 1979 Je Te Tiens, Tu Me Tiens Par La Barbichette
- 1980 Can’t Stop The Music
Thelma Houston
Early life & career
Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother. She and her three sisters grew up primarily in Long Beach, California. After marrying and having two children, she joined the Art Reynolds Singers gospel group and was subsequently signed as a recording artist with Dunhill Records.In 1969, Houston released her debut album, entitled Sunshower, produced by Jimmy Webb. In 1971 she signed with Motown Records but her early recordings with them were largely unsuccessful. Her most notable single during that period was "You've Been Doing Wrong for So Long" which peaked at #64 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1974. However Houston's vocal prowess on that track secured her a nomination for a Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In April 1974 Houston joined the cast of The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, playing various characters during the shows skits. The show was canceled in August and for the next several years her work was limited to demo recordings and performing at small venues.Houston took acting classes and received her first role in the 1975 made-for-television film Death Scream. In that same year Sheffield Lab released "I've Got the Music in Me" a recording by Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker that went on to become a benchmark vinyl recording for audiophiles. The following year she recorded songs for the soundtrack to the film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings starring Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones. In 1975 Houston appeared on the Golden Globe Award broadcast performing the nominated song "On & On" and also was featured in a tribute to Berry Gordy on that year's American Music Award broadcast singing "You've Made Me So Very Happy". That year Houston's version of "Do You Know Where You're Going To" was being set for single release when it was pulled and the song given to Diana Ross to serve as the theme song for the movie Mahogany. In 1976 Houston sang backing vocals for Motown labelmate Jermaine Jackson on his album My Name Is Jermaine.[edit] Don't Leave Me This Way & aftermath
Houston released her third album Any Way You Like It in 1976. The first single released was her version of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' 1975 song "Don't Leave Me This Way".[1] In February 1977 the track hit #1 in the U.S. on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts as well as on the Club Play Singles chart. "Don't Leave Me This Way" won Houston the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the Grammys for 1977. Besides its US success "Don't Leave Me This Way" became a hit in at least twelve countries, including the UK where it reached #13 despite the concurrent single release of the Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes which reached #5. Also in 1977 Houston teamed up with Jerry Butler to record the album Thelma & Jerry and that November 1977 she co-starred in the film Game Show Models. It was announced in February 1977 that Houston would star as Bessie Smith in a filmation of the play Me and Bessie, to be produced by Motown; after an announcement that December that Houston was set to portray Bessie Smith in a biopic to be produced in 1978 by Columbia Pictures nothing more was heard of the project.
The second single from Any Way You Like It was Houston's rendition of "If It's the Last Thing I Do", a standard written by Charlie Chaplin; the track had been recorded and prepped for single release in 1973 but canceled. The impact of "If It's the Last Thing I Do" was far less than that of "Don't Leave Me This Way", as the former fell short of both the R&B Top Ten and the Pop Top 40. With the lead single from her 1978 album The Devil in Me: "I'm Here Again", Houston returned to the style of "Don't Leave Me This Way" without recapturing the earlier single's success. Houston did enjoy considerable commercial success in 1978 via the inclusion of her track "Love Masterpiece" on the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack album which sold double platinum but her own album release that year Ready to Roll again failing to consolidate the stardom augured by "Don't Leave Me This Way". The album's second single: "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", gradually accrued airplay entering the national charts in March 1979 and ascending as high as #34 (#19 R&B) that June. "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning" was issued on a new album by Houston: Ride to the Rainbow but the track's relative success was not enough to forestall Houston's planned departure from Motown.[1]
The 1980s
Houston continued recording into the 1980s, beginning with the RCA release Breakwater Cat which reunited her with Jimmy Webb who'd produced her debut Sunshower and which like their earlier collaboration was a commercially overlooked critical success. In the 22 December 1984 Billboard magazine interview, Houston admitted to "'no real commercial success' since the single 'Don't Leave Me This Way' broke on the Pop charts in late 1976" indicating that the disco backlash had left her with "no real base of audience support" and that her current album Qualifying Heat, executive produced by Houston herself, was a concentrated initiative to restore her as a viable chart presence; the album featured three cuts from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - including the single "You Used to Hold Me So Tight" - and production work from Glen Ballard, Dennis Lambert, Cliff Magness and - in his first known recording work - Lenny Kravitz (then billed as Romeo Blue), who each produced a cut apiece. "You Use to Hold Me So Tight" became Houston's most successful post-'70s' release with a #13 R&B peak but it parent album was a comparative failure - charting #41 R&B - and Houston would not cut another album for six years.The constant ranking of her '80s releases of the '80s as moderate or minor R&B hits led Houston to concentrate on alternate exposure: having appeared in the independent film The Seventh Dwarf in 1979, Houston made guest-starring appearances into the mid-1980s in several popular television programs including Cagney & Lacey, Simon & Simon - a January 1986 appearance that featured her performing "You Used to Hold Me So Tight" - and Faerie Tale Theatre. Houston also appeared in the 1987 CBS after school special Little Miss Perfect (1987) - as "Prison Singer" - in the 1988 film And God Created Woman.
On the 19 May 1985 NBC broadcast Motown Returns to the Apollo Houston performed "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" in the guise of Dinah Washington. Houston continued to contribute to movie soundtracks, recording "Keep It Light" for the 1985 film Into the Night and she remade Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" for the 1989 film entitled Lean on Me. Houston also co-wrote and sang back-up on the song "Be Yourself" for Patti LaBelle's 1989 album of the same title.
The 1990s
The fall of 1990 saw the release of Houston's first album in six years, Throw You Down, a long-planned collaboration with producer Richard Perry which briefly extended Houston's career as a minor R&B chart presence. The title song reached #5 on the U.S. dance chart. A remix of "Don't Leave Me This Way" was released, and once again charted on the Hot Dance Club Play chart at #19 in 1995. Subsequent singles include "I Need Somebody Tonight" and "All of That".In 1994, Houston participated in an AIDS benefit at New York’s Algonquin Hotel, performing gospel music with Phoebe Snow, Chaka Khan and CeCe Peniston as "Sisters of Glory". Intended as a one-off performance troupe, the Sisters of Glory remained together - with the addition of Mavis Staples and Lois Walden, and without Chaka Khan - to perform at Woodstock '94. Houston performed with the Sisters of Glory for the Pope in Vatican City and in 1995 Houston, Phoebe Snow, CeCe Peniston, Lois Walden and Albertina Walker recorded the Warner Brothers album Good News In Hard Times as the Sisters of Glory.[3]
Houston provided backing vocals on guitarist Scott Henderson's 1997 Atlantic album, Tore Down House. and in 1998 she made cameo appearances in two films: in 54 Houston portrayed herself singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" supposedly at Studio 54, and in Beloved Houston played 'One of The Thirty Women'.[edit] Recent times
In 2000, Houston toured successfully throughout Australia in the stage musical version of Fame. Upon returning to the U.S. Houston toured with Nile Rodgers and Chic, and with was among the opening acts of the originally intended finale of Cher's Farewell Tour in Toronto on 31 October 2003. Houston regularly performs at Teatro ZinZanni in Seattle and San Francisco.
Her version of "Don't Leave Me This Way" continues to be popular today. In recent years she has been invited to sing this song on dozens of TV shows and specials including NBC's Today Show, ABC's Motown 45 and The Disco Ball...A 30-Year Celebration, and PBS' specials American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love and Soul, Soul Superstars, and Old School Superstars. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was mentioned by VH1 as being among the greatest dance songs in 2000, and was ranked number eighty-six on the channel's countdown of The 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. She won an episode of the NBC show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time with her renditions of her own hit and "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys. On September 20, 2004, Houston's rendition of "Don't Leave Me This Way" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City.
On August 14, 2007, Houston released her first studio album in seventeen years, A Woman's Touch. The album features cover versions of songs by male artists such as Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, and Sting that Houston had been inspired by. The first single from the album was "Brand New Day". On August 20, 2007, Houston's 1984 album Qualifying Heat was reissued as an import title in the U.S. with a bonus track.
She sang "Don't Leave Me This Way" on American Idol Wednesday April 22, 2009 and on "America's Got Talent" on September 16, 2009.
Discography
Albums
- Dunhill release
- 1969: Sunshower
- Motown releases
- 1973: Thelma Houston
- 1976: Any Way You Like It
- 1977: Thelma & Jerry – Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler
- 1978: The Devil in Me
- 1978: Ready to Roll
- 1978: Two to One – Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler
- 1979: Ride to the Rainbow
- 1982: Reachin' All Around
- Sheffield Lab release
- 1975: I've Got the Music in Me – with Pressure Cooker
- RCA releases
- 1980: Breakwater Cat
- 1981: Never Gonna Be Another One
- MCA releases
- 1983: Thelma Houston (1983)
- 1984: Qualifying Heat
- Reprise release
- 1990: Throw You Down
- Italian-only release (Fonit Cetra CDL378)
- 1994: Thelma Houston (1994)
- Shout Factory release
- 2007: A Woman's Touch
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] *** Cash Box Top 100[5] | U.S. R&B[4] | U.S. Dance[4] | U.S. Dance airplay[4] | Various | |||||||||
| 1966 | "Baby Mine" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1967 | "Don't Cry, My Soldier Boy" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1969 | "Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Sunshower" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Jumpin' Jack Flash" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1970 | "Save the Country" | 70 *** 83 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "The Good Earth" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1972 | "I Want to Go Back There Again" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Me and Bobby McGee" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Piano Man" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "What If?" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "I'm Just a Part of Yesterday" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1974 | "You've Been Doing Wrong for So Long" | — | 64 | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1976 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" | 1 *** 3 | 1 | 1 | — |  #6  #18  #4  #13  #9  #15  #4  #17  #1  #11  #4  #13 | |||||||
| "Any Way You Like It" | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| "If It's the Last Thing I Do" | 47 *** 85 | 12 | — | — | #81 | ||||||||
| 1977 | "I'm Here Again" | — | 21 | 18 | — | #34 #9 | |||||||
| "I Can't Go on Living Without Your Love" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "It's a Lifetime Thing" | — | 84 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Don't Pity Me" (with Jerry Butler) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1978 | "I'm Not Strong Enough (To Love You)" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1979 | "Love Masterpiece" (from Thank God It's Friday) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning" | 34 *** 44 | 19 | 33 | — | #38 #14 | ||||||||
| "Love Machine" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1980 | "Suspicious Minds" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1981 | "If You Feel It" | — | 35 | 6 | — | #27 #42 #48 | |||||||
| "96 Tears" | — | 76 | 22 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1983 | "Working Girl" | — | 46 | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Just Like All the Rest" | — | 80 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1984 | "You Used to Hold Me So Tight" | — | 13 | 7 | — | #49 | |||||||
| "What a Woman Feels Inside"/"Fantasy and Heartbreak" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1985 | "I'd Rather Spend the Bad Times with You, Than the Good Times with Someone New" | — | — | 4 | — | — | |||||||
| "(I Guess) It Must Be Love" | — | 59 | — | — | #80 | ||||||||
| "Why Do People Fall in Love" (with Dennis Edwards) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Moonlight Serenade" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "In the Mood" (from Into the Night) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "My Lucille" (with B. B. King)/"Keep It Light" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1989 | "Lean on Me" | — | 73 | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1990 | "Hold On" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Out of My Hands" | — | 82 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Throw You Down"/"What He Was" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1991 | "High" | — | 66 | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Throw You Down" | — | — | 6 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1996 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" (Junior Vasquez '96 Version) | — | — | 19 | — | #35 | |||||||
| "I Need Somebody Tonight" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1998 | "All of That" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1999 | "Let It Be" (with Roger Daltrey) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 2004 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" (Soultans Mix) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 2007 | "Brand New Day" | — | — | 20 | 30 | — | |||||||
Filmography
Films
- 1975: Death Scream — Lady Wing Ding
- 1977: Game Show Models — Dana Sheridan
- 1979: The Seventh Dwarf
- 1988: And God Created Woman — prison singer
- 1998: 54 — herself
- 1998: Beloved — one of The Thirty Women
Television (guest)
- 1969: The Price of Fame - Guest singer, singing "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
- 1971: The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine — various characteres
- 1980: The Two Ronnies - Guest singer, singing " The Candyman"
- 1985: Cagney & Lacey — Ellie Hendricks
- 1986: Simon & Simon — Venutia
- 1986: Tall Tales & Legends — Edna
- 1987: Little Miss Perfect — Ms. Bonner
Soundtracks
- 1976: The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings — "Steal on Home", "Razzle Dazzle"
- 1976: Norman... Is That You? — "One Out of Every Six"
- 1978: Thank God It's Friday — "Love Masterpiece"
- 1984: Getting Physical — "Hot Dance", "To Be Free"
- 1985: Into the Night — "Keep It Light"
- 1989: Lean on Me — "Lean on Me"
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