GRAMMY-winning artist Thelma Houston has announced her Virtually Yours online concert, which will stream on demand on wale.rocks/shows beginning on Oct. 24 through Jan. 31, 2021. This extraordinary musical experience will be offered for a one-time ticket price of $10, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit LA-based Project Angel Food, a nonprofit organization that feeds people with HIV and older people who are homebound. Ms. Houston created the Virtually Yours experience to help bridge the isolation that people are feeling during the current Covid-19 pandemic and to connect fans through music.
"I've been fortunate to perform all over the world, and it has affirmed for me that music truly is universal," says Houston. "From my start as a gospel singer to my career at Motown and beyond, I feel that whatever I can do-especially in troubled times-to bring harmony and hope into peoples' lives is the way in which I can contribute. I invite fans, old and new, to tune in and help a wonderful charity."
A Mississippi native, Houston started out in the 60s performing gospel music with the Art Reynolds Singers. She signed to Capitol Records (home of the Beatles, Nat King Cole, and Nancy Wilson) in 1967, and had her first hit song with "Baby Mine." Offered a solo recording contract, Houston released her first 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. At Motown, Houston claimed the top of the pop, R&B, and dance charts with her high-powered rendition of "Don't Leave Me This Way." That 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."
"We have been fortunate to benefit from Thelma's support for many years and are truly grateful," said Richard Ayoub, Executive Director, Project Angel Food. "It's a testament to her artistry and ingenuity that she would create a way to bring us closer together during these troubled times and give."
In early 2020, Houston collaborated with Morrissey on "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know." Also released in 2020 was the dance single "Turn Your World Around" (Radikal Records) with Bimbo Jones. The song rose on the Billboard Dance Charts to #7. The summer of 2020 found Houston teaming up once again with Jimmy Webb for the song called "Someone is Standing Outside." With appearances from Tokyo to Las Vegas to London and beyond, Houston continues to bring audiences to their feet each year with national and international performances.
Houston is known as a humanitarian for her charitable causes and her tireless efforts in the battle against AIDS. In 2003, the City of West Hollywood proclaimed January 29 as "Thelma Houston Day." She has donated her talents to numerous charities, including Divine Design for Project Angel Food, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and the Minority AIDS Project, to which she donated her $20,000 winnings from the TV show Hit Me Baby. She is also very active in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP and is a longtime supporter of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
Photo Credit: Stephen Ford
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