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Soul diva Patti LaBelle enjoyed one of the longest-lived careers in contemporary music, notching hits in a variety of sounds ranging from girl group pop to space age funk to lush ballads. Born Patricia Holt in Philadelphia on May 24, 1944, she grew up singing in a local Baptist choir, and in 1960 teamed with friend Cindy Birdsong to form a group called the Ordettes. A year later, following the additions of vocalists Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, the group was rechristened the Blue Belles; with producer Bobby Martin at helm, they scored a Top 20 pop and R&B hit in 1962 with the single "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman," subsequently hitting the charts in 1964 with renditions of "Danny Boy" and "You'll Never Walk Alone."
In 1965, the quartet � now known as Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles � signed to Atlantic, where they earned a minor hit with their version of the standard "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The group's Atlantic tenure was largely disappointing, however, and in 1967 Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard in the Supremes. The remaining trio toured the so-called "chitlin circuit" for the remainder of the decade before signing on with British manager Vicki Wickham in 1970; Wickham renamed the group simply LaBelle and pushed their music in a funkier, rock-oriented direction, and in the wake of their self-titled 1971 Warner Bros. debut they even toured with the Who. (The trio also collaborated with Laura Nyro on her superb R&B-influenced album Gonna Take a Miracle.)
By 1973, LaBelle had gone glam, taking the stage in wildly theatrical, futuristic costumes; a year later they became the first African-American act ever to appear at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, a landmark performance that also introduced their lone chart-topping single, the Allen Toussaint-produced classic "Lady Marmalade." However, after two more albums � 1975's Phoenix and the following year's Chameleon � LaBelle disbanded, and its namesake mounted a solo career, issuing her eponymous debut in 1977. In addition to subsequent releases including 1979's It's Alright with Me and 1980's Released, LaBelle also turned to acting, co-starring in a 1982 Broadway revival of Your Arms to Short to Box with God.
Upon signing with the Philadephia International label, LaBelle scored a number one R&B hit with "If You Only Knew," from 1983's I'm in Love Again. Two years later, she reached the pop Top 20 with her Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack contribution "New Attitude." Her subsequent MCA debut, 1986's The Winner in You, went platinum on the strength of the Burt Bacharach-penned "On My Own," a duet with Michael McDonald, while the follow-up, 1989's Be Yourself, featured a pair of cuts written by Prince. 1991's Burnin' earned a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance. LaBelle recorded less and less frequently in the years to follow, in 1995 publishing her autobiography, Don't Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime. She returned five years later to release When a Woman Loves. -- Jason Ankeny of All Music Guide.
01. Decatur Street 02. Down The Aisle 03. One Phone Call 04. Tear After Tear 05. Danny Boy 06. I Sold My Heart To The Junkman 07. Have I Sinned 08. Itty Bitty Twist 09. I Walked Right In |
10. The Joke's On You 11. My Bridal Gown 12. Cool Water 13. I Believe 14. When Johnny Comes Marching Home 15. You Will Fill My Eyes No More 16. You'll Never Walk Alone 17. Academy Award 18. Love Me Just A Little |
01. Over The Rainbow 02. More 03. Groovy Kind Of Love 04. Ebb Tide 05. All Or Nothing 06. People |
07. Unchained Melody 08. Patti's Prayer 09. He 10. Yesterday 11. Who Can I Turn To 12. Try To Remember |
01. Dreamer 02. Always Something There To Remind Me 03. I'm Still Waiting 04. Take Me For A Little While 05. I Don't Want To Go On Without You 06. Tender Words |
07. Danny Boy 08. That's How Heartaches Are Made 09. One Phone Call 10. Down The Aisle 11. Where Are You? |
01. Joy To Have Your Love 02. Funky Music 03. Since I Don't Have You 04. Dan Swit Me 05. You Are My Friend |
06. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover 07. I Think About You 08. Do I Stand A Chance 09. Most Likely You Go Your Way |
01. It's Alright With Me 02. My Best Was Good Enough 03. What'cha Doin' To Me 04. Love Is Just A Touch Away 05. Love And Learn |
06. Deliver The Funk 07. Come What May 08. You And Me 09. Music Is My Way Of Life |
01. The Spirit's In It 02. Here You Come Again 03. Love Lives 04. I Fell In Love Without Warning 05. Boats Against The Current |
06. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu 07. Family 08. Shoot Him On Sight 09. Over The Rainbow |
01. Pressure Cookin' 02. Something In The Air 03. Revolution Will Not Be Televised 04. Sunshine(woke up this morning) 05. (can I speak to you before you go to)Hollywood? 06. Hollywood |
07. Mr. Music Man 08. Goin' On A Holiday 09. Let Me See You In The Light 10. Open Up Your Heart 11. Last Dance |
01. Lady Marmalade 02. You Are My Friend 03. Joy To Have Your Love 04. Little Girls |
05. Music Is My Way Of Life 06. I Don't Go Shopping 07. It's Alright With Me 08. Come What May |
01. I'm In Love Again 02. Lover Man 03. Love, Need And Want You 04. If Only You Knew |
05. Body Language 06. I'll Never, Never Give up 07. Love Bankrupt 08. When Am I Gonna Find True Love |
01. Oh People 02. On My Own(w/Michael McDonald) 03. Something Special(is gonna happen tonight) 04. Kiss Away The Pain 05. Twisted |
06. You're Mine Tonight 07. Finally We're Back Together 08. Beat My Heart Like A Drum 09. Sleep With Me Tonight 10. There's A Winner In You |
01. If You Asked Me To 02. I Can't Complain 03. Be Yourself 04. Yo Mister 05. I Got It Like That 06. Love '89 |
07. Still In Love 08. I'm Scared Of You 09. Can't Bring Me Down 10. Need A Little faith 11. I Can Fly |
01. This Christmas 02. 'Twas Love 03. Nothing Could Be Better 04. I'm Christmasing With You 05. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? 06. If Everyday Could Be Like Christmas |
07. Reason For The Season 08. Country Christmas 09. Born In A Manger 10. O Holy Night 11. Wouldn't It Be Beautiful 12. Angel Man |
01. Feels Like Another One 02. Somebody Loves You Baby 03. When You Love Somebody 04. I Don't Do Duets 05. Temptation 06. When You've Been Blessed |
07. Burnin'(the fire is still birnin' for you) 08. I Hear Your Voice 09. We're Not Making Love Anymore 10. Release Yourself 11. Love Never Dies |
01. All Right Now 02. Release Yourself 03. Somebody Loves You Baby 04. New Attitude 05. If Only You Knew 06. You Are My Friend 07. Lady Marmalade |
08. Feels Like Another One 09. Wind Beneath My Wings 10. When You've Been Blessed 11. I Don't Like Goodbyes 12. Over The Rainbow 13. Up There With You |
01. I'm In Love 02. All This Love 03. The Right Kind Of Lover 04. This Word Is All 05. Too Good To Be Through 06. I Never Stopped Loving You |
07. Stay In My Corner 08. If I Didn't Have You 09. I Can't Tell My Heart What To Do 10. Time Will Tell 11. Our World 12. Come As You Are |
01. White Christmas 02. O Holy Night 03. Santa Clause Is Coming To Town 04. The First Noel 05. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear |
06. Jingle Bells 07. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 08. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 09. O Come All Ye Faithful 10. Auld Lang Syne |
01. White Christmas 02. Jingle Bells 03. The First Noel 04. O Come All Ye Faithful 05. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 06. Winter Wonderland 07. O Little Town Of Bethlehem |
08. O Holy Night 09. Blue Christmas 10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 11. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 12. Silent Night 13. Auld Lang Syne 14. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve |
01. Yo Mister 02. Beat My Heart Like A Drum 03. Feels Like Another One 04. Release Yourself 05. You're Mine Tonight 06. All Right Now 07. Oh, People |
08. When You Love Somebody 09. Sleep With Me Tonight 10. There's A winner In You 11. Can't Bring Me Down 12. If Only You Knew 13. Lady Marmalade |
01. Someone Like You 02. I Like The Way It Feels 03. You Are My Solid Ground 04. Flame 05. Let Me Be Your Lady 06. Does He Love You 07. Shoe Was On The Other Foot |
08. Addicted To You 09. When You Talk About Love 10. Love Is Just A Whisper Away 11. If By chance 12. Let Me Be There For You 13. You Saved My Life 14. Don't Block The Blessings |
01. The Kitchen 02. When A Woman Loves 03. Make Tonight Beautiful 04. If I Was A River 05. Why Do We Hurt Each Other 06. Too Many Tears, Too Many Times |
07. Call Me Gone 08. Time Will 09. Tell Where It Hurts 10. I'll Still Love You More 11. Love Will Lead You Back 12. When A Woman Loves(reprise) |
01. More Then Material 02. It's Time 03. New Day 04. Something More 05. Sometimes Love 06. Hear My Cry 07. Good Lovin' |
08. Mm, Mm, Mm 09. Not Right But Real 10. 2 Steps Away 11. Finally Got The Nerve 12. Unpredictable 13. When You Smile |
01. Ain't No Way 02. He's Out Of My Life 03. Didn't I(blow your mind this time) 04. Love Don't Live Here Anymore 05. I Keep Forgetting 06. Love Ballad 07. I Can't Make You Love Me |
08. Your Song 09. I'll Write A Song For You 10. Silly 11. I'll Stand By You 12. You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else 13. Land Of The Living |