All Photos: Alan Mercer Make-Up: Rudy Calvo Hair: Leverne Tate
After 45 years of performing, Thelma Houston continues to celebrate her long and outstanding career and shows no signs of slowing down!
Over the course of many years, promoters have been asking Thelma, when is she going to return to her Motown roots? After much thought, Thelma decided the timing was right to launch a brand new show called: Thelma Houston: Motown Memories & Me! The show features non-stop classic Motown songs (that we all know and love,) along with tributes to her gospel roots, and to the legendary Jimmy Webb.
A Mississippi native, Thelma started out in the 60's performing in gospel music with the Art Reynolds Singers. She then signed to Capitol Records (home of the Beatles, Nat King Cole and Nancy Wilson) in 1967 and had her first hit song called ‘Baby Mine.’
Soon Thelma was courted by several record labels and signed with ABC/Dunhill where she recorded and released her first solo album called ‘Sunshower’ which was written, arranged and produced by the legendary Jimmy Webb. After this critically acclaimed album was released, Thelma decided to accept an offer from one of the biggest record companies around, Motown Records.
With Motown Records, Thelma claimed the top of the Pop, R&B and Dance charts with her high-powered rendition of ‘Don't Leave Me This Way.’ That Gold Record classic gave Thelma the distinction of being the first solo female artist at Motown to win the Grammy Award for "Best R&B Female Vocal Performance."
Thelma has rocked Rockefeller Center on NBC's The Today Show and along with Aretha Franklin and Mary Wilson, she raised the roof on ‘Love, Rhythm and Blues’ for PBS. Thelma appeared with Phoebe Snow, Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples and CeCe Peniston as the ‘Sisters of Glory’ in New York City in a rousing performance that received a special request to perform at The Vatican for The Pope.
The legendary Nile Rogers called upon Thelma to be his special guest for a sold out concert at the Hollywood Bowl and she toured with Cher on her Living Proof Concert Tour. Additionally, Thelma headlined at Harrah's in Las Vegas. She has also been inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City and honored as an "Apollo Legend" on the syndicated hit TV show, ‘Showtime at the Apollo.’
In April 2009, Thelma performed on the #1 rated television show in the USA, Fox's ‘American Idol,’ where she tore it up for an estimated audience of over 25 million people.
Thelma was honored to perform in Denver when Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination. In January 2009, Thelma then was asked to headline the official inauguration dinner for President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., at the Mayflower Hotel along with her friends, Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge.
With appearances from Tokyo to Las Vegas to London and beyond, Thelma continues to bring audiences to their feet with her dynamic, energetic show. This Diva logs over 200 performances annually and is enjoying every moment of her success.
Thelma was first on my blog in November 2009
You can read it here
AM: Thelma, it is very exciting that you are doing a One Woman Show! What can you tell me about it?
TH: This story is my music history. I focus a lot on the music of Motown. You know how when you hear an old song it can remind you of certain things that were going on in your life at the time?
AM: Yes!
TH: Well that is what this show is like. It goes all the way up to my hit, ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way.’ Motown is the record label I always wanted to be signed with. So eventually I had an opportunity to be on the label and that’s what this show is. It’s about my experiences on Motown once I joined the label and my interactions with some of the other artists’ on the label.
AM: Can you give me some examples?
TH: For instance I performed at Carnegie Hall with Smokey Robinson. Stevie Wonder produced a song for me. I toured with the Four Tops and with the Temptations. The show is a bunch of personal stories and my quest to be on the Motown label. Also we cover my time in Gospel music which is where I started and my dream to go on to Motown that was implanted in me by my junior high school principal.
AM: Who wrote it for you?
TH: Iona Morris is the writer and the director.
AM: I love this Thelma. This opens you up to a whole new type of audience and theaters.
TH: Exactly! The first time we did the show was last October at the Catalina’s in Los Angeles. I did two nights and both were sold out. They asked me to come back again so I’m doing it on April 29 and 30th. Before that I’m doing the show at Yoshi’s in Oakland on April 26 and 27.
AM: I know you will be in New York soon!
TH: I hope so. I want to tour this around. People seem to really like it and they are interested in the stories.
AM: Does it feel cathartic to you?
TH: Yes it did while we were writing it.
AM: How did the idea to do a One Woman Show come about?
TH: I have always done an eight minute Motown medley in my show and through the years people have asked me if I would do longer versions of those songs. So I thought about it and decided instead of just doing a Motown review I wanted to add a more personal touch to it.
AM: That always makes the show more enjoyable.
TH: All the Motown artists like Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves and myself, we are all in the same age range. We are contemporaries who are pretty much the same age.
AM: I guess you all are.
TH: Smokey was well into his career when I was seventeen. In 1960 he had a hit with ‘You Better Shop Around.’ The reason I remember that song is because at the time my boyfriend and I, who later became my husband and the father of my children, (Laughter) would sit in the car in the parking lot of a hamburger joint. This is what all the kids did back then. So anyway, I would smell the burgers, the onions and the chili and it would make me sick because I was pregnant.
AM: (laughter) What a memory!
TH: I would be so nauseous and that song would always be playing in the background. Then nine months later I was waiting on my own delivery and I would hear the Marvelettes sing, ‘Please Mr. Postman.’ So those are a couple examples of the stories I tell. All the songs have a personal attachment to me.
Thelma Houston performs at Yoshi's in Oakland on April 26 & 27. You can purchase tickets here: http://www.yoshis.com/
Thelma will then perform at Catalina's in Los Angeles on April 29 & 30. You can purchase tickets here: http://www.ticketweb.com
To learn more about Thelma Houston visit her web site http://www.thelmahouston.com/