Thelma Houston

A Mississippi native, Thelma Houston is a dedicated music creator and philanthropist who started out in the 1960s performing gospel music with the Art Reynolds Singers. In 1967, Houston signed to Capitol Records (home of the Beatles, Nat King Cole, and Nancy Wilson), and had her first hit song with "Baby Mine." Houston released her first solo album, Sunshower, on ABC Dunhill in 1969, which was written and produced by the legendary Jimmy Webb. 

After this critically acclaimed debut, Houston signed with Motown Records. Always a pathbreaker, at Motown, she claimed the top of the pop, R&B, and dance charts with her signature rendition of "Don't Leave Me This Way." This Gold Record classic gave Houston the distinction of being the first solo female artist at Motown to win the GRAMMY Award for "Best R&B Female Vocal Performance." 

In early 2020, Houston collaborated with Morrissey on "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know." Also released the same year was the dance single "Turn Your World Around" (Radikal Records) with Bimbo Jones. The song quickly rose on the Billboard Dance Charts to No. 7. As an artist who is always focused on creating, Houston teamed up once again with Jimmy Webb during the COVID-19 pandemic for the song called "Someone is Standing Outside." Recent shows include CBS's Motown 60: A GRAMMY Celebration. Houston’s performance brought down the house. She also recently performed on the BET special DJ Cassidy's Pass the Mic. During Black History Month in February, she was honoured by the 2022 City of Los Angeles African American Heritage Month Program as a Living Legend—which she truly is.