Thelma Houston (‘The Masked Singer’ Clock) on twerking her way to 3rd place at 81 years old and launching career of Lenny Kravitz [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I didn’t think I was going to get that far,” admits Thelma Houston, the legendary Grammy-winning diva who placed third on “The Masked Singer” as Clock. “There have been some other divas out there that we know well that didn’t get quite that far, so I said, ‘Well, as long as I can do as good as they did that would be great.’ To go this far was just a surprise to me. It was one of the most challenging things I have ever done, trust and believe.”
The 81-year old revealed in one of her clue packages that she skipped the 1978 Grammy Awards because she never though she’d win for her classic Motown hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” She explains, “Two years prior to that I had been nominated for a Grammy before. When Aretha [Franklin] is on there you can just forget about winning. So, I didn’t win that year and when I was nominated again I thought, ‘Well, are you going to be able to sit there when they call somebody else’s name,’ because you know how they put that camera right on you as the winner is walking up to the stage. So I didn’t know if I would be able to do that and I chose to stay home because I didn’t think that I was going to win!”
Although the costume was hard to maneuver in, Thelma was determined to twerk her way to the end. “What can I do to?” she laughs. “I bet if I twerk they’re gonna see that. It was a desperation move!”
We also take the diva through a walk down memory lane as we discuss the 40th anniversary of her album “Qualifying Heat.” She recalls, “That was one of the fun recording sessions because I went to Minneapolis where [Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis] live and they made it so comfortable. But at the same time, you’re getting a lot of work done. It was seamless. And Terry’s mom went out and caught fish and had me for dinner. It was the best, most relaxed time ever.”
Also, an unknown young musician who went by the name Romeo Blue produced the track “What a Woman Feels Inside.” The then 20-year-old unknown would go on to become rockstar Lenny Kravitz. “I said to him, ‘How can you write such great lyrics?’ He was the sweetest guy. He mentions that in his memoir, he mentions producing me.”
Houston is also a big supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and continues to perform at PRIDE celebrations across the country. “I believe because my song in the gay clubs, they are the ones that got that song going. They are the ones that forced radio to get on it.” She continues, “That to me is my support. Had it not been for them maybe the song wouldn’t have gotten to where it was. Of course, I’m always supportive of them. I lost a lot of friends from AIDS so that had a lot to do with my embracing that community as well. I have been the grand marshal probably for every parade there has been.”
