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Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle at the 1990 Emmy Awards. Photo by Alan Light.
Background information
Birth name	Patricia Louise Holt
Born	May 24, 1944
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre(s)	Pop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actress
Years active	1960-Present
Associated acts	Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash

Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holt on May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an R&B/soul legend who fronted two moderately successful groups before achieving success as a solo artist in the late 1970s and in the process has influenced a new generation of female singers. She is known for her strong vocals and her signature vocal belting. She has been largely compared to Aretha Franklin during the 1970s, but her distinguishing vocal belting remains unique and recognizable.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. She is widely regarded by many in the music industry, including VH1, Sir George Martin, and Rolling Stone magazine, as being one of the greatest vocalists of all time.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Labelle

Labelle, ca. 1975

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.

[edit] Solo career

1n 1976 during a performance in Baltimore, Nona suffered a nervous breakdown, forcing the band to disband abruptly (see note #1). LaBelle 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 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 number-seven and number-fourteen on the pop charts respectively.

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, the Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Oh, People", the moderate pop chart hit, "Kiss Away The Pain" and the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart hit, "Something Special Is Gonna Happen Tonight."

By the end of the 1980s, she scored a moderate R&B and pop chart hit with the Diane Warren ballad, "If You Asked Me To", in 1989. The song peaked at #10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was later covered by Céline Dion in 1992 when hit peaked at #1 on both the Pop & A/C charts. 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 1995. 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 and later for OneTouch Ultra2, 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. "Burnin'" featured the hits, "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)", "When You've Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)" and "Feels Like Another One." 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 toned Adult Contemporary songs by Diane Warren. Surprisingly, the album did not score an Adult Contemporary chart hit with the title track. LaBelle's musical legacy would be heard on several tracks by younger R&B and Hip-hop artists'; such as "Lady Marmalade" (resung by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Pink and Mya on the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge!, which became a #1 hit all over again 26 years after LaBelle's original version topped the charts). She also appeared, though briefly, in a performance of the song at the 2002 Grammy Awards. "Love, Need & Want You" was sampled by rapper Nelly and Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland in their #1 hit, "Dilemma" and later by Outkast, who featured LaBelle re-singing parts of the song on their hit, "Ghetto Musick"). "If Only You Knew" has also been covered and sampled in recent years.

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 among others. She also released a vibrant single of the cut. [1]

On Tuesday, July 22, 2003, Patti LaBelle sang the "Ave Maria" at the funeral of the legendary Cuban born 'Salsa Queen' Celia Cruz, held in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The year 2004 saw the release of Timeless Journey, which debuted at #16, making it LaBelle's highest charting album in eighteen years. Songs on the album include "2 Steps Away" and "When You Smile", a tribute song for Celia Cruz featuring Spanish language artists Carlos Santana, Andy Vargas, and La India. She scored modest hits with "New Day", "More Than Material" and, "Gotta Go Solo", a duet with Ronald Isley which peaked at #31 on the R&B chart.

In mid-2005, she released a covers album, featuring tracks made popular by other artists. LaBelle has often performed some of her favorite songs by other singers in her concerts. The album, "Classic Moments" featured such songs as "I Can't Make You Love Me", the lead single, "Ain't No Way" (ft. Mary J Blige), "I'll Stand By You", "Land of the Living (with singer/songwriter 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. 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". LaBelle also appeared in the movie preaching to the choir as Sister Jasmine the Choir Director. LaBelle sang four songs for the album which included: Going To My Fathers House (which she belted two very high notes that chart at about C6), How I Got Over and Preaching To The Choir with Labelle.

On November 21, 2006, "The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle" was released. As a promotion, all copies sold at Wal-Mart have a bonus track, "The Lord's Prayer.". The Gospel According To Patti LaBelle debuted at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, #17 on the R&B chart and #1 on the Gospel Albums chart. The unit sales of the first week have tallied up to a respectable 18,000 units sold. Labelle was prominently featured alongside Fantasia and Yolanda Adams on the remake of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish", on the soundtrack to "Happy Feet".

[edit] Discography

[edit] 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.) (Gold)
• 1975 Phoenix (Labelle) (#44 U.S.)
• 1976 Chameleon (Labelle) (#94 U.S.)

• 1977 Patti LaBelle (#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.) (Gold)
• 1985 Patti (#72 U.S.) (Gold)
• 1986 Winner in You (#1 U.S., #30 UK, #29 U.S. Dance) (Platinum)
• 1989 Be Yourself (#86 U.S.)
• 1990 This Christmas
• 1991 Burnin' (#71 U.S.) (Gold)
• 1992 Live! (#135 U.S.)
• 1994 Gems (#48 U.S.) (Gold)
• 1997 Flame (#39 U.S.) (Gold)
• 1998 Live! One Night Only (#182 U.S.)
• 2000 When a Woman Loves (#63 U.S.)
• 2004 Timeless Journey (#18 U.S.) (Gold)
• 2005 Classic Moments (#24 U.S.)
• 2006 The Gospel According To Patti LaBelle(#86 U.S.)

[edit] Singles

[edit] Filmography

• 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)
• Idlewild (2006)

[edit] See also

• 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 chart

[edit] External Links

• Patti LaBelle Worldwide Discography + Original Covers

[edit] Citations

1. "Don't Block the Blessings", Patti LaBelle, pg. 200

A Different World