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Lady Marmalade
Background:
"I truly respect the people who are working. If they want an
autograph from Patti LaBelle, they are going to get it. I have never
separated myself from them. I never think you are better than the
next one. I think we are all equal. I have never been a b**** and I
don't know how to be, and I don't know how to be nasty." Patti
LaBelle.
Grammy-winning R&B, soul singer and songwriter Patti LaBelle
first shot to fame in the 1960s and 1970s when she fronted the girl
groups “Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles” and
“Labelle,” with whom she released the internationally
smash hit single "Lady Marmalade" (1975). Following the
break up of the groups, she embarked on an illustrious solo career
and continued to find success on the pop and R&B charts with hits
like "If Only You Knew," "New Attitude," and "On
My Own."
"Women are strong now. Women are dominating the charts, and
women are doing it for themselves. We're kicking butt and taking no
prisoners." Patti LaBelle.
The soul diva, known for her strong vocals and her signature high
octave vocal belting and is often compared to fellow R&B singer
Aretha Franklin, ranked #41 on VH1's Greatest Women of Rock N Roll
and received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993.
"I want to be remembered as a woman who was fair and always
gave 150 percent, no matter what I did... I guess when people come to
see me they know they're going to get 150%. It's been that way ever
since I stepped out on stage for the first time." Patti LaBelle.
While enjoying one of the longest-lived careers in contemporary
music, Patti appeared as a series regular on “A Different
World” in the early '90s and published a variety of
best-selling cookbooks, including 1999's “LaBelle Cuisine:
Recipes to Sing About.” Her biography, “Don't Block the
Blessings” (1997), remained at the top of the The New York
Times best-seller list for several weeks.
"I can't do some of the songs that younger girls like Mary J.
Blige and Beyonce are doing. They have their own place and I have my
own place." Patti LaBelle.
Patricia Louise
Childhood and Family:
Born Patricia Louise Holte on May 24, 1944 in West Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Patti LaBelle was given the name LaBelle (which in
French translates to the beautiful) by a record exec whom originally
thought she was too dark and unattractive to head the then all girl
group “The Blue Belles.” The fourth of five children to
Henry Holte, a railroad worker, Patti has three sisters, Vivian,
Barbara, and Jackie, and one brother. Unfortunately, she lost all
three of her sisters to some form of cancer before their 44th
birthdays.
Patti herself was diagnosed with diabetes in 1995 and is now a
spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association (ADA). She has
published two cookbooks targeted at people with diabetes, containing
low-sugar and low-fat recipes, and in 2005, she began appearing in
advertisements for OneTouch Ultra and later for OneTouch Ultra2, a
manufacturer of blood glucose monitoring systems for people with
diabetes.
Patti, who left high school to tour with the “Ordettes”
as a teen, has been granted honorary doctoral degrees from Cambridge
University, Drexel University, and the Berkley School of Music for
her contribution and achievement in music.
When asked about the award that stands out among her numerous
awards, Patti confessed, "Being honored at Berklee College of
Music; I got a doctorate. I am Doctor Patti. Those things are very
important to me because I never strived for anything like that. Also,
to get something that is not an award, and that is the love I get
when I go to the supermarket or the airport, and people show me love
from their hearts, there are so many angels out there. You can't be
nominated for things like that."
After calling of her engagement with Otis Williams of the
long-time R&B singing group “The Temptations,” Patti
married long-time manager Armstead Edwards on July 23, 1969, but they
divorced after over thirty years of marriage in early 2000. Patti has
five children. She adopted her sister Jackie's son and daughter after
she died of cancer. She raised her neighbor's two boys, Dodd and
Stanley, after her neighbor died of pneumonia, although she and her
husband were too old at the time to legally adopt them. She also has
one biological son named Zuri.
Asked if she ever felt that she is failed in marriage, Patti
explained, "I guess it was just that after 32 years, we started
falling out of love. That was in the last six months. I knew that
when I was feeling how I was feeling, I had to walk away from it. He
wasn't quite ready for it, but I was."
Patti is the godmother of fellow R&B singer Mariah Carey (born
March 27, 1970) and Cyndi Lauper's son, Declyn (born November 19,
1997). She is close friend of Grammy-winning R&B and soul
singer-songwriter, and record producer Luther Vandross (April 20,
1951 – July 1, 2005).
Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles
Career:
"I guess I started by joining a choir. I decided to always
sing in the back with the chorus and never went up front because I
had trouble performing. The choir director told me that I had to go
up front because I was not supposed to be singing the chorus because
I am special. She made me sing a lead and when I finished singing,
the church gave me a stand-up 'Hallelujah, Amen' and I thought, 'Oh
shoot, maybe this is my calling!' That is how I found out that I
really wanted to sing." Patti LaBelle.
At the age of 14, Patti LaBelle began singing in the Beulah
Baptist Church Choir. Her school teacher apparently realized her
talent and advised her to start a singing group. As Patsy Holte,
Patti then formed a four-member girl group called the “Ordettes”
in 1958. In 1959, when two of the original “Ordettes”
left, Patti and fellow “Ordettes” Sandra Tucker brought
in singers Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. Sandra later also left the
group and she was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. Patti subsequently left
high school to tour with the “Ordettes,” which was
managed by Bernard Montague.
After two years touring from local nightclubs to honky tonks and
truck stops, the group auditioned for Blue Note Records and got
signed. Since then, the girls changed their name into “Blue
Belles” and Patti began using her present name. The group's
name was later renamed again, to "Patti LaBelle and the
Bluebelles" since there was another group with the name
"Bluebelles."
With the help of producer Bobby Martin, "Patti LaBelle and
the Bluebelles" scored their first Top 40 pop hit, a Top 20 pop
and R&B hit single "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman"
(1962). Afterwards, they began to wow audiences at New York's Apollo
theater and were given the name "The Apollo Sweethearts."
In the following years, "Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles"
scored more hits with "Down the Aisle" (1963), "You'll
Never Walk Alone" (1964), "Danny Boy" (1965), and "All
or Nothing" (1966). After being signed with the Atlantic Records
in 1966, the girls scored what later became Patti's signature song
with their version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." In
1967, the foursome became a trio when Birdsong left to join “The
Supremes,” replacing Florence Ballard. Patti reportedly was so
mad at Birdsong for leaving the group that she didn't talk to her for
18 years.
After returning from England in 1970, the girls transformed into
the soul/rock, glam-styled "LaBelle," after hooking up with
British promoter Vicki Wickham, formerly Janis Joplin's promoter. The
trio signed with Warner Bros Records in 1971 and released their self
titled album, which was a commercial failure but received rave
reviews for its positive image. They were also backed up
singer/songwriter Laura Nyro on her album “It's Gonna Take a
Miracle” (1971) and went on tour with rock acts like “The
Who.”
"LaBelle"'s next album, "Moon Shadow" (1972),
which featuring the ground-breaking tracks "I Believe That I've
Finally Made It Home" and "It Ain't Sad Until It's All
Over," also failed to gain commercial success, but did get rave
reviews. They were subsequently dropped from the record label, but
quickly signed with RCA Records with the help of Vicki Wickham.
Their first album with the RCA, "Pressure Cookin"
(1973), failed to gain commercial success but garnered great reviews
thanks to Hendryx-written songs "Let Me See You In The Light,"
"Can I Speak To You Before You Go To Hollywood," "Going
On A Holiday," and "Last Dance." In October of 1974,
"LaBelle," who has changed their looks again; now adorning
space-like, "rockish" hair and uniforms, made history as
the first African-American contemporary act to perform at the
Metropolitan Opera.
Patti later commented, "I think it has gotten much better. I
think the race situation is getting better as far as people
respecting each other goes. I think the race situation with
entertainment is not that much better. Had I been a white performer,
I would be a super-super-super star like Madonna, Bette Midler and
Barbra Streisand. Because I am a black woman who sings as well as the
three names I mentioned, I have to wait longer and I have to do flips
when I am on stage in order for them to see me. I always have to go
that extra mile, and I do it and I don't mind doing it, but it isn't
fair."
In December 1974, “LaBelle” released the album
“Nightbirds” on Epic Records. The single "Lady
Marmalade" became a No. 1 hit on both the U.S. R&B and pop
charts, and an international smash during the winter of 1975. Twenty
six years later, the song was covered by Christina Aguilera, Lil'
Kim, Mýa, and Pink as a single for the Oscar-winning "Moulin
Rouge!" film soundtrack. Their version was also a number-one hit
on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. for five weeks in mid 2001.
"Labelle"'s version of "Lady Marmalade" was later
inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. As for the album
“Nightbirds,” it reached #7 on the pop album charts and
was ranked number 272 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500
greatest albums of all time.
"Instant success doesn't bother me... I am glad that [others]
can get it. [But] don't take it and think that you are 'all that.'"
Patti LaBelle.
Following their breakout hit, “LaBelle”'s subsequent
albums, “Phoenix” (1975) and “Chameleon”
(1976), wouldn't have quite the same commercial success. They went to
separate abruptly in 1976 when Hendryx suffered a nervous breakdown
during a performance in Baltimore. Patti subsequently embarked on a
solo career and released her first self-titled solo LP in 1977 on
Epic Records, which spawned the stand-out ballad "You Are My
Friend" and for the funkier "Joy To Have Your Love."
She followed it up with late '70s albums “Tasty” (1978),
featuring the salsa hit "Teach Me Tonight (Me Gusta Tu Baile),"
“It's Alright With Me” (1979), featuring the disco
classic "Music Is My Way Of Life," and “Released”
(1980).
"We all decided to go our separate ways; it was something
that we didn't want to do any longer as a group. We all wanted to
sing different music, so we all went in different directions. We are
all still friends and we still plan on doing a reunion tour."
Patti LaBelle.
In 1981, Patti signed with Philadelphia International and released
“The Spirit's in It” near the end of the year. In 1982,
she co-starred with soul star Al Green in the Broadway revival of the
musical based on the Biblical Book of Matthew, “Your Arms Too
Short to Box With God.” She also made her TV debut in the TV
movie adaptation of Studs Terkel's book celebrating the lives of
everyday working-class people, "Working" (1982), in which
she also performed the songs "If I Could've Been" and
"Cleanin' Women."
“I'm in Love Again,” Patti's 1983 album, became her
first gold album since 1974's “Nightbirds.” It yielded
the No. 1 R&B smash "If Only You Knew," which stayed
four weeks at #1 spot on the U.S. R&B charts during January and
February 1984 and peaked number 46 on the U.S. pop charts in early
1984, as well as the R&B top 10 smash "Love, Need and Want
You," which was later sampled by rapper Nelly and “Destiny's
Child” member Kelly Rowland in their #1 hit "Dilemma,"
and then by Outkast, who featured Patti re-singing parts of the song
on their hit, "Ghetto Musick."
Meanwhile, Patti appeared in Norman Jewison's World War II drama,
“A Soldier's Story” (1984; starring Howard E. Rollins
Jr.), which was adapted by Charles Fuller from his own Pulitzer
Prize-winning off-Broadway play. She also solidified her comeback
with the released of the million-selling single "New Attitude,"
which climbed to a respectable #17 on Billboard, and the "Beverly
Hills Cop" (1984) soundtrack "Stir It Up," which
peaked at #41 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and #5 on the U.S. Black
Singles chart. In 2005, Patti re-recorded "Stir It Up"
alongside Joss Stone for the soundtrack to the Disney animated
feature film "Chicken Little."
During this time, Patti wowed the crowd during her performance at
Live Aid in her native Philadelphia in July of 1985. She then signed
with MCA in 1986, and released her sixth solo album “Winner in
You” that spring. It became her most successful album thus far
of her career, topping at #1 on the American Billboard album charts
in 1986 and going platinum in the United States. The album spun off
the Billboard Hot 100 #1 single "On My Own", a duet with
former “Doobie Brother” Michael McDonald.
Originally not intended to be a duet at all, LaBelle eventually
decided to invite McDonald to help her turn the song into a duet, as
she stated, "The song was sent to me and I did a version of it
but somehow it just didn't quite work. We were going over things I'd
done and we talked about turning in into a duet. Someone asked , 'If
you could do it with anyone, who would you sing it with,' and Michael
was my first choice..."
Later in 1995, country music singers Reba McEntire featuring
Martina McBride, Linda Davis, and Trisha Yearwood covered "On My
Own."
“Winner in You” also spawned 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."
During the late '80s, Patti continued to appear in feature and
made-for-television films. She co-starred with Alfre Woodard and
John Ritter on TV's “Unnatural Causes” (1986) and with
Lorraine Bracco in Richard J. Baskin-directed teen film “Sing”
(1989), in which she performed the song "Total Concentration."
Meanwhile, she released the Gold album “Be Yourself”
(1989), featuring a couple of tracks written by Prince, while her
contribution to the 1989 James Bond “Licence To Kill”
film soundtrack featured the original recording of "If You Asked
Me To," which Celine Dion covered three years later and made it
into the top five.
Patti later commented, "I knew the song was a hit when I
recorded it, and I was happy that Celine did it and did so well with
it. But the arrangements are so close and we both have pretty
powerful voices...so who knows why my version didn't take off. Maybe
it was timing..."
Entering the 1990s, Patti made her debut as Adele Wayne, the
homemaker mother to Kadeem Hardison's Dwayne, on the NBC sitcom “A
Different World,” a spin-off series from "The Cosby Show."
She played the recurring role until the show's final episode in 1993.
She recalled, "They sent me the script and after reading it I
felt that I had to do it. It was something that I was happy to do. I
wasn't looking to act at that time."
Meanwhile, Patti released the gold-selling album “Burnin'”
(1991), which helped her win her first Grammy Award for Best R&B
Female Vocal Performance. It spun off three Billboard top 5 R&B
hits "Feels Like Another One," "Somebody Loves You
Baby (You Know Who It Is)," and "When You've Been Blessed
(Feels Like Heaven)." In the album, Patti also reunited with
Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx on the track "Release Yourself."
The following year, Patti released her first solo live album,
"Live!" (1992), whose single "All Right Now"
earned the diva her eighth Grammy nomination. On TV, she also starred
as Chelsea Paige, an urban nightclub owner, in the NBC sitcom “Out
All Night” (1992), alongside Morris Chestnut, Vivica A. Fox,
and Duane Martin.
1993 saw Patti won an American Music Award for Favorite R&B
Female Artist and was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard's
Walk of Fame. Afterwards, she went on to release albums “Gems”
(1994; featuring the hit "The Right Kinda Lover"), “Flame”
(1997; featuring the hit "When You Talk About Love"), and
the Grammy-winning “Live One Night Only” (1998). She also
released an autobiography, “Don't Block the Blessings:
Revelations of a Lifetime” (1995) and received Soul Train's
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. She wrapped the decade by
releasing a cookbook, “LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About,”
in 1999.
Asked if she thinks the way to a man's heart is through his
stomach, Patti explained, "I know it. There have been so many
men in my life that I have fed and at the time I was married, and if
I wasn't married, I know they would have tried to kiss me. Now that I
am divorced, I just run away after I feed them because I know that I
have probably already hooked them."
After releasing “When A Woman Loves,” which included
heartbroken-toned Adult Contemporary songs by Diane Warren, Patti
ended her 30-year marriage with manager Armstead Edwards. In 2002,
she released a collection of “Greatest Love Songs” by
Hip-O and appeared, though briefly, in a performance of the song at
that year's Grammy Awards. In the following year, she performed her
NASA theme song, "Way Up There," at a memorial service for
the astronauts of the Columbia shuttle disaster, and was nominated
for a Grammy for this tune, but lost to her friend Aretha Franklin.
She also released a second cookbook, “Patti LaBelle's Lite
Cuisine: Over 100 Dishes With To-Die-For Taste Made With To-Live-For
Recipes,” which was co-authored by Laura Randolph Lancaster.
In 2004, Patti made her highest charting album in eighteen years
with "Timeless Journey," which debuted at #16 and featured
the tracks "2 Steps Away" and "When You Smile."
She also had her own reality show on TV1, "Living It Up with
Patti Labelle" (2004), and released a cover album, "Classic
Moments" (2005), which featured such songs as "I Can't
Make You Love Me," the lead single, "Ain't No Way"
(featuring Mary J Blige), "I'll Stand By You," "Land
of the Living" (with singer-songwriter Kristine W.), and "Your
Song" (featuring Elton John), before eventually being dropped
from her label.
Patti announced that she is reuniting with "Labelle"
while appearing as a guest on the show "Martha" on December
23, 2005. She is also playing Motormouth Maybelle in "Hairspray"
on Broadway.
"Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God. I
do what I can do. I do what I feel God has given me the energy to
do, so I just go out there and I do it…It’s not about
making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing.
With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage."
Patti LaBelle.
"The Gospel According To Patti LaBelle" was released on
November 21, 2006 through indie label Umbrella/Bungalow Records. It
debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at #86, peaked at #17 on
Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #1 on Billboard's
Top Gospel Albums chart for 17 weeks. It spawned the radio hit "Where
Love Begins," a duet with Yolanda Adams, and "Anything"
featuring Kanye West, Mary Mary and Consequence.
"I was born gospel, so it’s not like I’m coming
back or trying to impress people with this new gospel project. I’ve
always done this. I’ve never done a whole album. That’s
the only thing that’s missing,” observes the songstress.
“I’ve come full circle where you can say it’s a
complete project." Patti LaBelle.
Patti is said to be recording a new album with Sarah Dash and Nona
Hendryx, together as the reformed “LaBelle,” with help
from Lenny Kravitz. She is currently re-signed with Def Jam and
released a Christmas album produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
and James "Big Jim" Wright, "Miss Patti's Christmas,"
on October 9, 2007.
An sharp business woman, Patti, who has two fragrances and a line
of lipsticks and nail polishes, launched her own wig line, The Patti
LaBelle Collection by Especially Yours, in early 2008. She is also
owner of Chez LaBelle dinner theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"I am blessed with this voice and people come to hear me and
part of what they are going to hear is what needs to be said about
this." Patti LaBelle.
Awards:
GLAAD Media: Excellence in Media Award, 2007
Grammy: Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, “Live
One Night Only,” 1998
Soul Train: Lifetime Achievement, 1997
American Music Award: Favorite R&B Female Artist, 1993
Image: Special Award - Entertainer of the Year, 1993
Grammy: Best R&B Female Vocal Performance, "Burnin',"
1992
Image: Special Award - Entertainer of the Year, 1987
CableACE: Performance in a Music Special, "Sisters in
the Name of Love," 1987
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