When it was revealed this week that the Clock on The Masked Singer was Thelma Houston, viewers were shocked that the legendary R&B/disco diva was eliminated in third place, missing the Season 11 finale by just one week.
But, speaking to Music Times the next morning, she humbly insists, "I didn't think I was going to get as far as I did, quite honestly — because what I learned is it isn't always about how you're singing. It's about how you vibe with the audience. It's about being playful; the audience likes playfulness. And they also like a story. They want a story, and I don't have too many sad stories."
Houston may not have sad stories, but she has great stories, having enjoyed an illustrious career since the late 1960s — years before disco's explosion and subsequent backlash — and undergoing multiple incarnations in the ensuing decades. She has not only reinvented herself time and time again, but she's consistently paid it forward. Speaking with Music Times, she reveals that it was a kept promise from comic Rodney Dangerfield that led to a career-launching opportunity on TV's original iconic entertainment series, The Ed Sullivan Show, and then, 15 years later, she helped kickstart the career of an unknown new wave/soul artist named Romeo Blue — aka future reinvented superstar Lenny Kravitz, who's been an amusing wrong guess on The Masked Singer multiple times.
In 1984, Houston recorded a song that a then-20-year-old Kravitz/Blue had cowritten, "What a Woman Feels Inside," for her MCA Records album, Qualifying Heat; the LP also featured contributions from Glenn Ballard and Jimmy & Terry Lewis. This was the first time that Kravitz, who co-produced and played guitar on the track, had ever appeared on a commercially released recording. "I know that I'm in his memoir. He put me in his book. He wrote about it in there," Houston chuckles.
In his 2020 autobiography, Let Love Rule, Kravitz wrote that being brought onto the Qualifying Heat project by one of his mentors, veteran producer John Barnes, was a "big break" for the artist now formerly known Romeo Blue, but admitted that he was disappointed when, after Kravitz arranged the track "like a straight-up R&B ballad," Barnes "modernized it with a heavy dose of Synclavier [synthesizer] that to my ears undercut the feel." But Houston felt the lyrics were timeless. And the song now stands as an interesting artifact in both her and Kravitz's long discographies, as Kravitz readies his 12th album, Blue Electric Light, and Houston releases her 57th single, a cover of the O' Jays classic "Love Train," this week.
The thing that amazed me about [Kravitz] was the fact that he was a young man being able to write such lyrics for a woman to sing. It wasn't a song written from a man's point of view about something," Houston explains. "It was specifically [sounded like] a woman's song to me. And I said, 'Did you write these words? Did you write this, just between you and me, Romeo?' I didn't call him 'Lenny,' because he was 'Romeo Blue' then. And he laughed and said yes. And I said, 'Oh my God!' It was amazing. ... The story is about how a woman feels about relationships, how she feels about her man. I was like, 'How did you write this song?'"
Interestingly, Houston's 1976 signature smash, "Don't Leave Me This Way," was originally performed from a man's perspective, but it was Houston's female-centric take that created the definitive version. "[Motown executive and Class of 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee] Suzanne de Passe heard the song," Houston recalls. "Suzanne de Passe is the one that signed me to the [Motown] label; she was the head of A&R. She heard the [1975 version] by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and she wanted me to listen to it. She said, 'Listen to this song, because I think a female singing this song is going to make it special, make it more interesting.' So, I listened to it and I liked it, and then they went in and recut it."
And the rest was herstory and history. "Don't Leave Me This Way" went on to win a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (although the humble Houston sat out that ceremony, because that was another situation when she didn't expect to win). And decades later, at age 81, Houston is still touring and recording.
Below, the icon chats about her "Love Train" single; why disco never really went out of style; her plans for Pride Month ("I love June!"); and why she connects so deeply with her LGBTQ+ fans.
MUSIC TIMES: You may not have sob stories, but you have great stories. One story that was a big clue on The Masked Singer was about how when you won your Grammy, you were home cleaning your kitchen instead of at the ceremony. Do you remember the speech you gave alone to your mop when you won?
THELMA HOUSTON: No, I was just in awe. [laughs] I was in disbelief. First of all, the reason I didn't go is because I didn't think that I was going to win, quite honestly. I had been nominated a couple of years before and with the same [nominee], Aretha Franklin — and hats off, all hail the queen. So, I thought, "Yeah, I probably won't win anyway," and I just didn't go. I really regret it to this day. You should always go, because you never know!
You obviously have accomplished so much in your career, and you're a survivor. We're coming up on the 45th anniversary of one of the darkest days in music, the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago. A lot of your peers were really hurt by that and had trouble reinventing themselves or continuing their careers. How did you overcome the whole "Disco Sucks" backlash of '79?
Well, prior to "Don't Leave Me This Way" being a hit, I'd been out there performing since the '60s. ... I got on The Ed Sullivan Show without having a hit! They gave me two songs on that show! And the reason is because I got a gig. I was out doing my little shows at little different clubs and so forth, and I was opening for Rodney Dangerfield. Rodney Dangerfield [said], "I'm going to be opening up my club pretty soon and I want you to come, and I want you to be the opening act." Now, I've heard different people say, "I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that"... but sure enough, he opened up his club and the first week, all of these people came in [when I was performing]. And that's how I got on The Ed Sullivan Show. I'm saying all that to say that I kind of had a career going, working club dates and stuff like that, before I had the [disco] hit. Now, that hit helped majorly with the career; it puts you on a different level. But I had a little base set so that when they did that demolition, burning and setting fire and all this stuff being angry about disco, I went back to doing my club dates.
Were you worried at the time?
I was concerned. ... But [disco] never really went away. Dance music is dance music, whether you call it "disco," "dance," whatever. It's still around and relevant.
What did you think of the Communards' 1986 version of "Don't Leave Me This Way"?
I loved it! And here's a story... I was in Sweden or Switzerland, somewhere I was performing, and the Communards were performing too. And I went to their concert and their manager knew that I was in the audience, so the manager gave me a microphone. So, when [Communards frontman] Jimmy [Somerville] started singing, [the manager said], "I want you to just get up there!" And I got up and started walking from my seat to the [stage] and [Jimmy] was like, "Oh!" ... We've done it where we've both been in [Pride] parades. I think it New York or San Francisco, we were both in the same parade, and I did it at one end of the parade and he did it on another end!
You have a lot of Pride events coming up this summer: Indianapolis, Oakland, St. Petersburg, Toronto. Why is it do important to you to give back to the LGBTQ+ community?
It's important to me because I believe the LGTBQ community is the one that started playing my music in the clubs before it got on the radio. ... The record companies were sending [DJs in discos and gay nightclubs] the songs, saying, "Can you play this in your club?" Because they realized how important [club DJs] were in terms of new music getting out. And let's go back before that. I used to go dance. I would hang out with my hairdresser, my costume designer. These were my friends. We hung out, we went dancing. We would go to the clubs dancing every Thursday night. These were my supporters. Of course, most of my friends from that time are gone; I just have maybe two or three here now that I call my support. But they would say to me, "Oh, girl, you're going to get that hit! Don't worry about it, girl! Let's go dancing!" And that was building me up. That's the community I feel were responsible for me. And so, everything that I can do, that's what I'm doing and am more than willing to do. I'm always up there. And I love June! I love Pride Month!
That's actually one of the reasons why I brought up that Disco Sucks backlash. I do think some of that was rooted in racism, and some of it was just because music trends change, but I also think a lot of it was rooted in homophobia, because the gay community what the first to embrace disco.
Yes, it was considered as a threat.
But that music has endured, and has been embraced by a new generation.
Yes, look at Dua Lipa and Beyoncé — everybody's still doing it! They know it's good. It's here to stay. It's a part of the culture.
Another Masked Singer clue that tipped me off that you were the Clock was about "performing for a president." You performed for Barack Obama's Out for Equality Ball in 2009. That must have been such a great experience.
Yes, that was by the Human Rights Organization. They also had me and Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge [perform] when Obama was nominated. ... And then we were invited for the inauguration.
What an honor! So, you're releasing the new single "Love Train," and we're in the middle of another election year. There are a lot of human rights on the table. What's the significance of releasing "Love Train" in 2024?
I heard this song and I thought those lyrics are so relevant to today. I do believe that love is the ultimate superpower. I believe that with all of my heart. I believe until people start to feel it in here [gestures to her heart], showing empathy and being kind, nothing is going to happen. Love, that's it. We have to realize that. So, I try to do it with [music]. ... I don't go out and lecture people. The only thing I tell people to do, every time when it's an election year, is vote. Make sure you're registered. If you want to see change, you've got to be the one to make the change. You've got to go out and vote. But I don't get on a platform and whatever. I want people to have a good time. But I want to tell them: "Pay attention to these lyrics, ladies and gentlemen."
You're always open to new things. You've done everything from dueting with Morrissey to doing The Masked Singer. You worked with Lenny Kravitz very early in his career. And it doesn't seem like you have any plans to retire any time soon. What keeps your career going? It seems like the train is still running, so to speak.
I still love it. I still love performing, and I haven't done it to the point where I'm tired of it. I still love it and try to find new ways and new things. I wanted to challenge myself with doing [The Masked Singer] because as you get older, you can get set in your ways and say, "Nah, nope, I don't do that. Nope, nope." Pretty soon, you're going to be in a little box. I still enjoy meeting people. I still enjoy doing new things — like talking to you, having this opportunity. I'm happy about the whole thing.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Watch Thelma Houston's full Music Times interview in the split-screen video above.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
