Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards; May 24, 1944) is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. As “Labelle”, they released the iconic disco song “Lady Marmalade”; and the group later became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In 1986, LaBelle scored with the number-one album, Winner in You and the number-one duet single, “On My Own”, with Michael McDonald. LaBelle’s success has extended as an actress with a notable role in the film, A Soldier’s Story, and in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show. In a career that has spanned fifty years, she has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. In 2005, the World Music Awards recognized her years in the music business by awarding her the Legend Award. LaBelle is commonly identified as the “Godmother of Soul”. (More from Wikipedia)
Even before the name was changed to Diana Ross and the Supremes in 1967, the heavy promoting of Diana Ross was causing turmoil in the Supremes and even in other Motown groups. Florence Ballard in particular felt that she was being pushed into the background; she gained weight and began drinking heavily, eventually failing to show up for rehearsals and arriving at concerts too inebriated to perform. She was eventually eased out entirely in April 1967 and was replaced by Cindy Birdsong of Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. (Patti LaBelle performed on Dancing with the Stars in the current season).
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Black Russian had some assistance with the lyrics, perhaps because English is not their native language; they hardly spoke the language at all at the time that they defected. Lyricists who lent a hand include Allee Willis, who co-wrote the lyrics for their beautiful first single “Leave Me Now”. Willis has had a long career as a writer, songwriter, set designer, and artist. From Wikipedia: “[Allee Willis]’s songs have sold over 50,000,000 records, including ‘September’ and ‘Boogie Wonderland’ by Earth, Wind and Fire, ‘Neutron Dance’ by the Pointer Sisters, ‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’ by Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield, and ‘Lead Me On’ by Maxine Nightingale. Willis has collaborated with hundreds of leading artists and composers from all fields of music, including Bob Dylan, Patti LaBelle, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Deniece Williams, and Motown legend Lamont Dozier.”
(April 2015/1)
