Don't Leave Me This Way
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"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 1976 and British duo the Communards in 1986, with both versions achieving commercial success.
Contents
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes original version
"Don't Leave Me This Way" | ||||
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side-A label
Solid centre variant of the UK single
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Single by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes | ||||
from the album Wake Up Everybody | ||||
B-side | "To Be Free to Be Who We Are" | |||
Released |
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Recorded | 1975 | |||
Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Philadelphia International | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology | ||||
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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 |
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US Hot Disco Singles (Billboard)[2] | 3 |
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 78 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] | 29 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] | 13 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] | 5 |
44 |
Thelma Houston version
"Don't Leave Me This Way" | ||||
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side-A label
A-side label of the US single
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Single by Thelma Houston | ||||
from the album Any Way You Like It | ||||
B-side | "Today Will Soon Be Yesterday" | |||
Released | 1976 | |||
Recorded | 1976 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Tamla | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Hal Davis | |||
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology | ||||
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"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 1976 single "Love Hangover", but was reassigned to Houston instead.
Following the release of Houston's fourth studio album, Any Way You Like It (1976), a Boston DJ record pool unanimously reported positive audience response to "Don't Leave Me This Way" in discothèques, and the song was selected for release as a single.[7] Houston's version topped the US soul singles chart[8] and, nine weeks later, the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in April 1977. The song peaked at number 13 in the UK.[9] The song peaked at number one on the disco chart.[10] Later in the year, it was featured on the soundtrack to the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, Houston won the award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards for her rendition of the song.[11]
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.[9] 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. In 2021, Rolling Stone included "Don't Leave Me This Way" in their list of 500 Best Songs of All Time at No. 355,[12] while in 2022, the magazine ranked it No. 121 in their 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time.[13]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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The Communards version
"Don't Leave Me This Way" | |||||
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Single by the Communards with Sarah Jane Morris | |||||
from the album Communards | |||||
B-side | "Sanctified" | ||||
Released | August 11, 1986 | ||||
Recorded | 1985–1986 | ||||
Genre | |||||
Length | 4:50 | ||||
Label | London | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Mike Thorne | ||||
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In 1986, the song was covered by British synth-pop duo the Communards in a hi-NRG version. This recording topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in September 1986,[54] becoming the best-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom. The featured guest vocalist was jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris. The song reached number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard dance chart.[55] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 16th favorite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[56]
The song also had a music video, which showed the band performing in an underground setting with many fans. This included a blond stoic young man as part of the crowd simply watching. In the video, it turns out that he was chased down and caught and forced to be an informant to secret police. Near the end of the video, he finally radios in to them, and at the end they turn spotlights on the band and the crowd, forcing them to scatter.
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), which had recently been abolished.
Critical reception
Much critical of the Communards' version, Simon Mills of Smash Hits stated that it "crucif[ied]" the original one "with stupid, blundering unsympathetic Hi-NRG synthesiser noices and that bloody ridiculous voice", adding that he did not like the song, the band and the single cover.[57]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
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France (SNEP)[86] | Silver | 400,000[78] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[87] | Platinum | 100,000 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[88] | Gold | 10,000 |
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] | Platinum | 600,000 |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kent 1993, p. 197.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Don't Leave Me This Way". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Thelma Houston: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kent 1993, p. 142.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5264a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ Pennanen 2021, p. 105.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Don't leave me this way" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Thelma Houston search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Thelma Houston – Don't Leave Me This Way". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Thelma Houston – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Thelma Houston.
- ↑ "Thelma Houston – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Thelma Houston.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Thelma Houston – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Thelma Houston.
- ↑ "Thelma Houston – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Thelma Houston.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 19950115". Scottish Singles Top 40.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kent 1993, p. 429.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 "Communards: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kent 1993, p. 72.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Pennanen 2021, p. 51.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Leave Me This Way". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Communards The search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don't Leave Me This Way". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "The Communards – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for The Communards.
- ↑ "The Communards – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for The Communards.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 78.0 78.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Don't Leave Me This Way in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
Bibliography
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- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- 1975 songs
- 1976 singles
- 1977 singles
- 1986 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- The Communards songs
- Disco songs
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes songs
- Hi-NRG songs
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
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- Motown singles
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- Philadelphia International Records singles
- Song recordings produced by Hal Davis
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- Songs written by Kenny Gamble
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- Thelma Houston songs
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