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Labelle | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Ordettes Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles Patti LaBelle and Her Blue Belles |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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Labelle was an American funk rock band that originated out of the Blue Belles, a girl group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The original group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the area around Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and Trenton, in New Jersey: the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, then later changing their name to the Blue Belles (and further Bluebelles). The founding members were Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holt), Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash.
As the Bluebelles, and later Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, the group found success with ballads in the doo-wop genre: "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and "Over the Rainbow". After Birdsong departed to join The Supremes in 1967, the band, following the advice of Vicki Wickham, changed its look, musical direction, and style to re-form as the progressive soul group Labelle in 1971. Their recordings of that period became cult favorites for dealing with subjects not typically addressed by female black groups. Finally, after adapting glam rock and wearing outlandish space-age and glam costumes, the band found success with the proto-disco smash hit "Lady Marmalade" in 1974, leading to the album Nightbirds achieving gold success. They were the first contemporary pop group and first black pop band to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House. They were also the first black vocal group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Each of the band members later went on to begin solo careers after the end of a tour in 1976, going on to have significant solo success. Nona Hendryx followed an idiosyncratic muse into a solo career that often bordered on the avant-garde;[3] but reaching a new audience with the respected 2017 release "Shine", by Soul Clap, which was a widely played in clubs in the UK, US clubs and Ibiza while being picked and released by the famous record label Defected Records.[4] Sarah Dash became a celebrated session singer; and Patti LaBelle enjoyed a very successful Grammy-winning career, with several top-20 R&B hits between 1982 and 1997, a number-one pop hit with "On My Own", and lifetime-achievement awards from the Apollo Theatre, World Music Awards, and BET Awards.
The group reunited for their first new album in 32 years, Back to Now in 2008. They performed together regularly until the death of Dash on September 20, 2021, at the age of 76.[5]
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Labelle Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ Armonaitis, Dan (October 5, 2016). "Patti LaBelle to perform Saturday at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium". GoUpstate. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
The group morphed into the eponymously-named LaBelle in 1971, reinventing itself as a progressive soul unit and eventually helping push funk and disco into the mainstream with "Lady Marmalade."
- ^ "Labelle | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com". Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "Soul Clap Feat. Nona Hendryx – Shine (This Is It)", Discogs.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (September 21, 2021). "Sarah Dash, the 'Glue' of the Vocal Trio Labelle, Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2021.