After Joe Tex struck paydirt in 1972 with "I Gotcha," he abruptly shifted gears and took a break from showbiz to travel across the country as a minister for the Nation of Islam. (For some reason, Joe Tex as a preacher isn't a very surprising thing, considering his sermonettes that graced so many of his hits.) Within a few years, however, Tex was back in the studio and he found himself enjoying a disco hit in 1977 with "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)," one of several "anti-disco" disco songs Tex would record between 1977 and 1980. Although "Bump" was a good record (certainly better than attempts many other older soul artists - such as Tex's rival James Brown - made at disco records), the entire Bumps and Bruises LP doesn't stay in a disco rut, featuring instead rollicking tunes like "We Held On," the humorous "I Mess Up Everything I Get My Hands On" and today's selection, a nice Southern ballad with an interesting lyric. At a time when disco ruled the airwaves and "Soul Train" (on which Tex appeared, actually bumping with a "big fat woman"), "Leaving You Dinner" had zero chance of single release, but it's one of my favorite later-'70s Joe Tex songs.
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