Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle (born
Patricia Louise Holt on
May 24,
1944 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a hugely revered
R&B/
soul singer who fronted two moderately successful groups before rising to stardom as a solo artist in the late 1970s, influencing a new generation of female singers. She is best known for her strong vocals and her signature high-octave
vocal belting. She has been largely compared to
Aretha Franklin during the 1970s, but her distinguishing
vocal range remains unique and recognizable, and she is widely regarded as one of the greatest vocalists of all-time by such industry publications/media outlets as
Jet Magazine,
BET and
VH1. Her biography
Don't Block the Blessings, remained at the top of the New York Times best seller list for several weeks. In addition, she is also a bestselling
cookbook author.
Early years
Born the youngest of five children including three sisters and a brother, Patti began singing at the age of 14 in church. A shy girl, Patti had a voice of a torch diva. A school teacher advised her to start a singing group.
With friend
Cindy Birdsong, she formed a four-member girl group called the Ordettes in 1958. In 1959, when two of the original Ordettes left, Holt and Birdsong brought in singers
Nona Hendryx and
Sarah Dash.
Two years passed until the girls auditioned for
Blue Note Records. The president, at the time, nearly passed on the group upon hearing the lead singer was Patti, or "Patsy" as friends and family calls her, whom he had said didn't fit the traits of a traditionally beautiful lead singer. But he changed his mind when Patsy began singing. The president signed them to the label under two conditions: The Ordettes were now the Bluebelles and Patricia "Patsy" Holt would be given a new name -
Patti LaBelle. For a woman that didn't have classic beauty traits, the last name meant "beautiful" in French. The name was changed again to
Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles after the manager of the group who had the same name sought to sue.
Success with The Bluebelles
|
Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles on the cover of their 1967 album Dreamer |
In 1962, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles scored their first Top 40 pop hit with the release of the doo-wop single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman". That same year, they began wowing audiences at
New York's legendary
Apollo theater later given them the name "The Apollo Sweethearts". Throughout the '60s, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles were one of the hottest touring acts on the
chitlin' circuit while the hits continued: in 1964, they scored again with songs like "
Danny Boy" and "Down the Aisle".
In 1966, the group signed to
Atlantic Records and scored what later became Patti's signature song with their version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Around this time, LaBelle was engaged to be married to
Temptations member
Otis Williams, but the couple called off the engagement because of their conflicting touring schedules. The next year, LaBelle, Dash & Hendryx received a shock when
Cindy Birdsong left to join
The Supremes, replacing
Florence Ballard. LaBelle was so infuriated by this that she refused to talk to Birdsong for the next eighteen years.
Labelle
In 1970, Patti and the Bluebelles moved to
England, in the
United Kingdom, where they met promoter
Vicki Wickham, formerly
Janis Joplin's promoter. The next year when the girls returned to America, they came out with a different name - simply
Labelle - and a new attitude, vocal style, and a new wardrobe. The former "Apollo Sweethearts" were now women. Wearing casual clothing and African adornments, Labelle often sung of racism, sexism and politics. Their sound was not taken to heart by consumers.
In 1974, however, learning of a cult following, the women changed their looks again now adorning space-like, rockish and uniforms, they began to sing about sex, space, politics, and things that many
funk and
rock bands were singing about at the time -- but with an exception; no female groups had dared up until now to broach this type of controversial material. Their following had grown so much that in October of that year, they were the first
African-American contemporary act to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House. That December, they released their greatest record,
Nightbirds, featuring their breakout hit, "
Lady Marmalade", which hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 1975, helping
Nightbirds to go platinum. It was as far as they got as success couldn't ring twice, although their subsequent albums,
Phoenix and
Chameleon were hailed by music critics as experimental and groundbreaking.
Solo career
1n 1976 during a performance in Baltimore, Nona suffered a nervous breakdown, forcing the band to disband abruptly (see note #1). LaBelle, now 33, released her self-titled debut in 1977 on Epic Records, where she recorded 3 more albums in the years to come. The debut album became an important hit for Patti at least on the R&B charts and was notable for the stand-out ballad, "You Are My Friend" and for the funkier "Joy To Have Your Love", which demonstrates Patti's large range with a typical Philadelphia Soul orchestrated arrangement with heavy bass. In the next year she released one of her most acclaimed albums,
Tasty, featuring the salsa hit "Teach Me Tonight (Me Gusta Tu Baile)". The next step was the album
It's Alright With Me featuring the disco classic "Music Is My Way Of Life" and the last album she recorded for Epic was
Released, which did better than the previous one chartwise but didn't generate any important hits nor received the same critical acclaim.
|
Patti's eponymous solo debut LP, released in 1977. |
Success was mostly eluding Patti until the early 1981, when she released the classic ballad, "I Don't Go Shopping." In 1983, she released her first charted hit album,
I'm In Love Again. The album featured LaBelle's first #1 R&B hit with "
If Only You Knew" and a radio hit with "Love, Need & Want You". In 1984, after an eighteen-year estrangement, she reconciled with Cindy Birdsong while she was on stage in
Los Angeles. By 1985, LaBelle was on her way to pop stardom after her songs, "New Attitude" and "
Stir It Up" (recently re-recorded by Patti and Joss Stone) from the soundtrack for
Beverly Hills Cop (1984), which peaked at #14 on the pop charts.
By the time of her rise to pop stardom in the mid-1980s, LaBelle was now infamous for her wild hairdos, kicking off her shoes in a "Holy Ghost"-like rage, rolling over the floor while singing, putting the microphone stand down and then yielding it up in the air and choreographing the now-legendary "spread my wings" move that she incorporated during her show-stopping performances of "Over the Rainbow". In 1986, she released her best-selling album to date with
Winner in You. The album yielded her first solo #1, "
On My Own" with
pop balladeer
Michael McDonald, and a Top 40 hit, "
Oh, People".
By the end of the 1980s, she scored a moderate R&B hit with the Diane Warren ballad, "
If You Asked Me To", in 1989, which was later covered by
Celine Dion. Dion claimed she had never heard Patti's recording, but if you listen and compare the two, Dion matches Patti note for note, phrase for phrase, so she it's poosible she did. Patti entered the 1990s on a high but not without tragedy. That year, she lost her third sister to
cancer. Patti's two elder sisters had similar fates, with the oldest dying in 1977 (at the height of LaBelle's success) and the second-eldest dying in 1982. Her brother, father and mother all followed suit dying around the same time making Patti the only living member of her extended family while being the mother of six kids - one born by Patti, three of one of her sisters' children and two adopted and wife of Armstead Edwards (married since 1969), who had become her manager.
LaBelle herself was diagnosed with
diabetes in 1994. She is a spokeswoman for the
American Diabetes Association, and has published two
cookbooks specifically aimed at diabetics, containing low-sugar and low-fat recipes. In 2005, LaBelle began appearing in advertisements for
OneTouch Ultra, a manufacturer of
blood glucose monitoring systems for diabetics.
In 1991, Patti released the critically-acclaimed, gold selling
Burnin' album, which helped Patti win her first
Grammy Award for
Best R&B Female Vocal Performance. That album is also notable because it includes the first Labelle reunion recording (with
Sarah Dash and
Nona Hendryx on the track "Release Yourself") That success continued onto subsequent albums like 1994's
Gems (featuring the hit, "The Right Kinda Lover"), 1997's
Flame (featuring the hit, "When You Talk About Love"), and 1998's
Live One Night Only (which won her a second Grammy). In 1993, LaBelle became the first, and so far only, recording artist to get a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame thanks to a petition by her legion of fans.
In 2000, in a stunning move, she divorced her husband, Armstead. The same year, she released
When A Woman Loves, an album mostly of heartbroken love ballads by Diane Warren. LaBelle's popularity would be heard loud and clear on younger artists' covers of some of LaBelle's legendary songs including "Lady Marmalade" (resung by
Christina Aguilera,
Lil' Kim,
Pink and
Mya on the soundtrack of
Moulin Rouge!, and which became a #1 hit all over again 26 years after LaBelle's original). She also appeared, though briefly, in a performance of the song at the 2002 Grammy Awards. "Love, Need & Want You" (sampled by rapper
Nelly and
Destiny's Child member
Kelly Rowland in their #1 hit, "Dilemma" and later by
Outkast, who later featured LaBelle re-singing parts of the song on their hit, "Ghetto Musick") and "If Only You Knew" (which has been covered by a lot of R&B singers and also sampled by hip-hoppers).
On
February 6,
2003, she performed "Way Up There" at a memorial service in honour of the astronauts lost in the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, which was held at the
Washington National Cathedral and attended by
Vice President Dick Cheney. She also released a vibrant single of the cut. [
1]
In 2004, she released
Timeless Journey, which debuted at #16, making it LaBelle's highest charted album in eighteen years and the album went gold. She scored a modest hit in 2005 with her duet with
The Isley Brothers in the song "Gotta Go Solo".
In mid-2005, she released what was believed to be a long-overdue album, featuring tracks made popular by other artists. Patti has been known for singing other peoples' songs in her concerts, and not hiding the fact that she loves those songs. The album,
Classic Moments featured songs like "I Can't Make You Love Me", "Ain't No Way" (ft. [Mary J Blige]), "I'll Stand By You", "Land of the Living (with dance diva [[Kristine W.], " and "Your Song" (ft. [Elton John]).
While appearing as a guest on the show
Martha on December 23, 2005, Patti LaBelle announced that she is reuniting with Labelle. Ms. LaBelle will also be starring in the upcoming film
Preaching to the Choir, which will feature original new music by Patti and the group Labelle. In 2005, Patti Labelle was honored by
Oprah Winfrey at her Legends Ball.
In June 2006 a previously unreleased BlueBelles track was unearthed and released on an Atlantic compilation CD, "Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Sisters". The name of the track is "(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days," and is one of the best of the BlueBelles' Atlantic recordings.
Her long-awaited gospel CD, tentaively titled "The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle," is scheduled for release in October, 2006.
Albums
* 1962
Sleigh Belles, Jingle Belles, and Bluebelles (with the Bluebelles)
* 1963
Sweethearts of the Apollo (with the Bluebelles)
* 1965
The Bluebelles on Stage (with the Bluebelles)
* 1966
Over the Rainbow (with the Bluebelles)
* 1967
Dreamer (with the Bluebelles)
* 1971
Labelle (Labelle)
* 1972
Moon Shadow (Labelle)
* 1973
Pressure Cookin' (Labelle)
* 1974
Nightbirds (Labelle) (#7 U.S.)
* 1975
Phoenix (Labelle) (#44 U.S.)
* 1976
Chameleon (Labelle) (#94 U.S.)
* 1977
Patti LaBelle LP (#62 U.S.)
* 1978
Tasty (#129 U.S.)
* 1979
It's Alright with Me (#145 U.S.)
* 1980
Released (#114 U.S.)
* 1981
The Spirit's In It (#156 U.S.)
* 1983
I'm In Love Again (#40 U.S.)
* 1985
Patti (#72 U.S.)
* 1986
Winner in You (#1 U.S., #30 UK, #29 U.S. Dance)
* 1989
Be Yourself (#86 U.S.)
* 1990
This Christmas* 1991
Burnin' (#71 U.S.)
* 1992
Live! (#135 U.S.)
* 1994
Gems (#48 U.S.)
* 1997
Flame (#39 U.S.)
* 1998
Live! One Night Only (#182 U.S.)
* 2000
When a Woman Loves (#63 U.S.)
* 2004
Timeless Journey (#18 U.S.)
* 2005
Classic Moments (#24 U.S.)
Singles
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) (documentary) (scenes deleted)
A Soldier's Story (1984)
Sing (1989)
Sylvester: Mighty Real (2002) (short subject)
Preaching to the Choir, a.k.a. On the One (2005)Upcoming:
Idlewild (2006)
Patti LaBelle Solo Soundtrack Appearances:*Idlewild (2006) (completed) On the One (2005) .... Sister Jasmine... aka Preaching to the Choir (USA: new title) "Living It Up with Patti LaBelle" (2004) TV Series .... Host"All of Us"
*O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2004) TV Episode .... Marvella, Robert's MotherSanta Baby! (2001) (TV) (voice) .... Melody Songbird"Cosby"
*The Return of the Charlites (1997) TV Episode "A Different World"
*When One Door Closes...: Part 2 (1993) TV Episode .... Adele Wayne
*Faith, Hope, and Charity: Part 1 (1992) TV Episode .... Adele Wayne
*Faith, Hope, and Charity: Part 2 (1992) TV Episode .... Adele Wayne
*Do You Take This Woman? (1991) TV Episode .... Adele Wayne
*I'm Dreaming of a Wayne Christmas (1990) TV Episode .... Adele Wayne(2 more)"Out All Night" (1992) TV Series .... Chelsea PaigeParker Kane (1990) (TV) .... CartierFire and Rain (1989) (TV) .... Lucille Jacobson;Sing (1989) .... Mrs. DeVere;The Who Live, Featuring the Rock Opera Tommy (1989) (TV) .... The Acid Queen;Unnatural Causes (1986) (TV) .... Jeanette Thompson;A Soldier's Story (1984) .... Big Mary;Working (1982) (TV) .... Cleaning Woman... aka American Playhouse: Working (USA: series title);For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1982) (TV) (singing beginning and ending themes) ... aka American Playhouse: For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (USA: series title). Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary (1977) (TV) .... Performer (performing
The Beatles' "Polythene Pam").
Filmography as: Actress, Miscellaneous Crew, Producer, Herself, Archive Footage
Miscellaneous Crew - filmography(2000s) (1990s) (1980s) Bruce Almighty (2003) (singer: "Ready for a Miracle") "G String Divas" (2000) TV Series (singer: "Lady Marmelade") (as Patti Labelle) Sing (1989) (singer) Dragnet (1987) (singer: "Just the Facts") Beverly Hills Cop (1984) (singer: "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up")
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1982)
Working (1982)
The Patti LaBelle Show (1985)
Unnatural Causes (1986)
Fire and Rain (1989)
Parker Kane (1990) (pilot for unaired series)
Out All Night (1992-1993)
Santa Baby! (2001) (voice)
Living it Up with Patti LaBelle (2004-????)
An All-Star Salute to Patti LaBelle (2005)
Soundtrack Appearances as Labelle (with Nona Hendryx & Sarah Dash):The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) (singers: "Lady Marmalade") Carlito's Way (1993) (singers: "Lady Marmalade (1989) singers: "Turn it Out")A Home at the End of the World (2004) (singers (with Laura Nyro): "Desiree"; "Gonna Take a Miracle"*
Philadelphia soul*
List of number-one hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart1. "Don't Block the Blessings", Patti LaBelle, pg. 200
A Different World
