Thelma Houston

A soulful vocalist with a slow-boiling delivery nurtured from singing gospel in her youth, R&B artist Thelma Houston enjoyed one of the biggest hits of the disco era with her heartfelt 1976 song "Don't Leave Me This Way." The song largely defined her career, which experienced more ups than downs over the course of four decades. But if Houston was disheartened by her lack of additional chart success, she did not show it; after all, the song had granted her a second career as a television actress, as well as icon status among the gay community, which adopted the number as a rallying cry in the fight against AIDS. Houston continued to mine the song well into the 2000s, proving that a great tune never loses its ability to move bodies and spirits.