"Don't Leave Me This Way" is a song written by

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

and Cary Gilbert. It was originally released in 1975 by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

, an act signed to Gamble & Huff's

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Gamble and Huff, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their longtime collaborator ...

label. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was subsequently covered by American singer

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1943) is an American singer and actress. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for ...

in 1976 and British duo

the Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and English musician Richard Coles. They are best known for their cover versions of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes fe ...

in 1986, with both versions achieving commercial success.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes original version

The Blue Notes' original version of the song, featuring

'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

'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. The track was finally issued as a 12-inch single in the US in 1979, coupled with "Bad Luck".

Charts

Thelma Houston version

"Don't Leave Me This Way" was covered by American singer

in 1976. Originally assigned to

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, 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 An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Any Way You Like It'' (1976), a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

DJ record pool unanimously reported positive audience response to "Don't Leave Me This Way" in

discothèque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a ...

s, and the song was selected for release as a single. Houston's version topped the US soul singles chart and, nine weeks later, the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week in April 1977. The song peaked at number 13 in the UK. The song peaked at number one on the disco chart. 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.

Legacy

Houston's version was revived in 1995 in several remixes, which reached No. 19 on the US ''Billboard'' dance chart and No. 35 in the UK. This version got Houston ranked No. 86 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders", as well as the number-two spot on their "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list in 2000. In 2012, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it No. 8 in their list of "The Best Disco Songs of All Time". In 2020, ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' ranked it No. 8 in their "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". In 2021, ''Rolling Stone'' included "Don't Leave Me This Way" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time" at No. 355, while in 2022, the magazine ranked it No. 121 in their "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". In 2025, ''Billboard'' ranked it No. 55 in their "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

The Communards version

In 1986, the song was covered by British

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

in a

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

version. This recording topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in September 1986, 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. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 16th favorite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV. 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 The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC), which had recently been abolished.

Critical reception

Much critical of the Communards' version, Simon Mills of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' stated that it "crucified" the original one "with stupid, blundering unsympathetic Hi-NRG synthesiser noises and that bloody ridiculous voice", adding that he did not like the song, the band and the single cover.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control 1975 songs 1976 singles 1977 singles 1986 singles Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes songs Thelma Houston songs The Communards songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles American disco songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Hi-NRG songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles London Records singles Motown singles Number-one singles in the Netherlands Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Philadelphia International Records singles Song recordings produced by Hal Davis Songs with lyrics by Cary Gilbert Songs written by Kenny Gamble Songs written by Leon Huff Tamla Records singles UK singles chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles