Thelma Houston (b. 1946)
Filed under the name Thelma · February 7, 2026
Thelma Houston's voice on 'Don't Leave Me This Way' has that specific disco-era power where the vocal itself becomes almost a visual thing to me, all that saturated, high-contrast emotion just filling the whole frame of the song. I think in composition and color even when I'm listening rather than designing, which is maybe an occupational hazard of doing this work for over a decade now. Houston built a genuinely lasting career on the strength of that one powerful voice, staying a favorite across soul and dance playlists well past the moment that made her famous, which takes more than a hit, it takes real staying power as a vocalist across changing tastes. I've been playing a lot of music like this on long stroller walks with my daughter, honestly just trying to stay a little bit like my pre-baby self in between naps and feedings, and something about that big, unapologetic Houston vocal feels like exactly the right soundtrack for reclaiming a little bit of your own energy mid-exhaustion.