Don't Leave Me This Way

"Don't Leave Me This Way" is a song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. It was originally released in 1975 by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, an act signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was subsequently covered by American singer Thelma Houston in 1977 and British duo the Communards in 1986, with both versions achieving commercial success.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes original version

"Don't Leave Me This Way"
One of artworks for Dutch vinyl single
Single by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
from the album Wake Up Everybody
B-side"To Be Free to Be Who We Are"
Released
  • November 1975 (as an album track)
  • November 1977 (as a single)
Recorded1975
Genre
Length
  • 6:08 (album version)
  • 3:59 (7″ edit)
  • 7:07 (12″ version)
  • 11:00 (1988 version)
LabelPhiladelphia International
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Kenneth Gamble
  • Leon Huff
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes singles chronology
"Tell the World How I Feel about 'Cha Baby"
(1976)
"Don't Leave Me This Way"
(1975)
"Reaching for the World"
(1977)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

The Blue Notes' original version of the song, featuring Teddy Pendergrass's lead vocals, was included on the group's 1975 album Wake Up Everybody. Though not issued as a single in the United States at the time, the Blue Notes' recording reached number three on the US Billboard Hot Disco Singles chart in the wake of Thelma Houston's version. The song proved to be the group's highest-peaking entry in the United Kingdom, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart, when released there as a single in 1977. It became the title track of a budget LP issued on the CBS Embassy label in the UK in 1978.[1] The track was finally issued as a 12-inch single in the US in 1979, coupled with "Bad Luck".

Charts

Chart (1975) Peak
position
US Hot Disco Singles (Billboard)[2] 3
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 78
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 29
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] 13
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 5
West Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 44

Thelma Houston version

"Don't Leave Me This Way"
Single by Thelma Houston
from the album Any Way You Like It
B-side"Today Will Soon Be Yesterday"
ReleasedDecember 2, 1976
Recorded1976
Genre
Length
  • 5:42 (album version)
  • 3:29 (7″ single version)
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hal Davis
Thelma Houston singles chronology
"You've Been Doing Wrong for So Long"
(1976)
"Don't Leave Me This Way"
(1976)
"If It's the Last Thing I Do"
(1977)

"Don't Leave Me This Way" was covered by American singer Thelma Houston in 1976. Originally assigned to Diana Ross, it was intended to be the follow-up to her single "Love Hangover", but was reassigned and given to Houston instead.

Following the release of her fourth album Any Way You Like It, a Boston record pool unanimously reported positive audience response to "Don't Leave Me This Way" in discos, and the song was selected for release as a single.[8] Houston's version topped the US soul singles chart[9] and, nine weeks later, the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in April 1977. The song peaked at number 13 in the UK.[10] The song peaked at number one on the disco chart.[11] Later in the year, it was featured on the soundtrack to the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, "Don't Leave Me This Way" won the award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards.[12]

Houston's version was revived in 1995 in several remixes, which reached number 19 on the US Billboard dance chart and number 35 in the UK.[10] This version got Houston ranked number 86 on VH1's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders", as well as the number-two spot on their "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list.

HIV/AIDS significance

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Houston's version of the song became an unofficial theme song for the AIDS epidemic in gay male communities of the west. American artist Nayland Blake created a work for the American Foundation of Aids Research about the epidemic that referenced the song and its significance in the community. An art exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia entitled "Don't Leave Me This Way – Art in the age of AIDS" opened in 1994 containing various works about the epidemic. A 246-page publication of the exhibition also followed.[13]

Charts

The Communards version

"Don't Leave Me This Way"
Single by the Communards with Sarah Jane Morris
from the album Communards
B-side"Sanctified"
ReleasedAugust 1986
Recorded1985–1986
GenreHi-NRG[44][45]
Length4:50
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mike Thorne
The Communards singles chronology
"Disenchanted"
(1986)
"Don't Leave Me This Way"
(1986)
"So Cold The Night"
(1986)

In 1986, the song was covered by British duo the Communards in a hi-NRG version. This recording topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in September 1986,[46] becoming the best-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom. The featured guest vocalist was the female jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris. The song reached number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard dance chart.[47] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 16th favorite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[48]

Several remixes were issued, notably the "Gotham City Mix" which was split across two sides of a 12-inch single and ran for a total of 22 minutes 55 seconds.

The album liner notes dedicate the song to the Greater London Council (GLC).

Weekly charts

Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[49] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[50] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[51] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[52] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 8
France (SNEP)[53] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[54] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[55] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[56] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[57] 2
Spain (AFYVE)[24] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[58] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[46] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[59] 40
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[60] 1
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[61] 3
US Cash Box Top 100[62] 55
West Germany (Official German Charts)[63] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[64] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[65] 2
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[66] 27
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[67] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[68] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[69] 1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[70] 71
Chart (1987) Position
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[71] 28

Cover versions

Jeanie Tracy released a cover version of this in 1985 on Megatone Records.

A version of the song is featured in the stage musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical during a funeral scene.

Ewan McGregor covers the song in "Elephant Love Medley" in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge!

Sheena Easton covered the song for her 2000 retro disco album Fabulous.

Gina G covered the song in 2003 for the "soundtrack" album to the reality music show "Reborn in the USA"

Andy Hallett sang in 2003 episode of Angel. Episode name: Life of the Party.

Episode 6 of the 2004 BBC musical drama serial Blackpool featured the Communards version, accompanied on screen by the singing and dancing of the characters, as part of the story.

Cher covered the song during her Las Vegas residency show Cher.

The 2012 song "Lying Together" by French Kiwi Juice samples vocals from Houston's cover.

The song appeared in the 2015 film The Martian directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon.

Bakermat covered the song in 2017 with their single "Baby".

References

  1. Hamilton, Andrew. "Don't Leave Me This Way – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  2. "Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  3. Kent 1993, p. 197
  4. "Ultratop.be – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  5. "Swedishcharts.com – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Don't Leave Me This Way". Singles Top 100. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
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  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Don't Leave Me This Way". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  8. Stibal, Mary E. (October 1977). "Disco—Birth of a New Marketing System". Journal of Marketing. American Marketing Association. 41 (4): 82–88. doi:10.2307/1250240. JSTOR 1250240.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 262.
  10. "Thelma Houston: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  11. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 124.
  12. "Past Winners Search". Grammy Foundation. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. Cosgrove, Stuart (May 10, 1995). "Don't leave me this way". The Independent. London.
  14. Kent 1993, p. 142
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  19. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
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  44. Robbins, Ira; Rompers, Terry. "Bronski Beat". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
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  48. Westbrook, Caroline (July 25, 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
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Bibliography

  • Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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