You've gotta love those Disco one-hit wonders of the seventies. This one actually won the 1978 Grammy for best female R&B vocal performance. And while Thelma wasn't really a "one-hit" wonder by standard, this was by far her most successful piece of work. She's lasted through the years, but never again did she break into the top of the charts like that.
What a lot of people don't know is that this song is actually a cover. It was first a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975. And guess who had the lead vocals on it? None other than the enchanting Teddy Pendergrass. Their version reached #3 on the US Billboard Disco charts, and #5 on the UK singles chart. Not too shabby.
But Thelma's version was the most impacting. It's known by damn near everyone, and to this day, it's still a great pre-game/party song. I mean come on, how could you not want to get down and boogie to this? My mom does, I do, and my kids just might. Oddly enough though, the song became far more than a great dancing tune, it actually became an anthem. For the AIDS epidemic in gay communities. Essentially it became a gay-male theme song, representing their struggle and fight against one of the most brutal viruses in history. I guess they were trying to say, "Hey, I should've used a condom and been more selective about who I stuck it in, but please, dont leave me this way, sick and abandoned, alone and scared." Whew, that's even heavy for me...
On a lighter note, take a look at the crowd in this video. Most of them do NOT look like they have any business stepping foot on a dance floor. And of that contingent, many of them don't look like they ever have. Check out the guy at 3:10. Paul Bunyan took a wrong turn at Albuquerque for sure. Somehow he wound up here, but I've got to say, he looks oddly okay with it. Whether or not Thelma is, well that's another story.
Happy Friday.
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