Patti LaBelle's children love to sing "Lady Marmalade"

She is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman.The lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, "Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles," began her career in the early 1960s.The disco song "Lady Marmalade" was released after the group changed their name to Labelle.The group became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and they played at the Metropolitan Opera House.LaBelle is referred to as the "godmother of soul".[3]

After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album.The hit singles "If Only You Knew", "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up" paved the way for LaBelle to become a mainstream solo star.[2]

LaBelle scored with the number-one album, Winner in You, and the duet single, "On My Own", less than two years later.LaBelle won a 1992 gramophone for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album Burnin', followed by a second win for the live album, Live!Only one night.Her albums Burnin', Gems and Flame were popular with young R&B audiences.After the release of two solo albums in the early new millennium, she got back together with her Labelle bandmates for Back to Now, followed by a promotional tour.In addition to her role in A Soldier's Story, which was nominated for an Oscar, LaBelle has also appeared in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show.In 1992, LaBelle starred in her own sitcom.LaBelle hosted her own show on TV One.LaBelle took part in the dance competition at the age of 70.She launched her own brand of bedding, cook books and food.When a video about her Sweet Potato Pie went viral, it sold millions.Walmart sold one pie every second.[4]

Over the course of seven decades, she has sold more than 50 million records.The Apollo Theater Hall of Fame is one of the places where LaBelle has been honored.Rolling Stone has a list of 100 greatest singers.LaBelle is a dramatic Soprano and is noted for her vocal power, range and emotional delivery.It was 6 and 7.

LaBelle was born in the Eastwick section of Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.She was the second youngest child of Henry and Bertha Holte's three children.Her father was Thomas Hogan Jr.The Hogans, Barbara, andJackie were all in the 1930s.Her mother was a domestic and her father worked as a railroad worker.LaBelle wrote in her memoirs that her parents' marriage was abusive, despite enjoying her childhood.LaBelle was sexually abused by a family friend after her parents' divorce.

She joined a local church choir at ten and performed her first solo two years later.She used to listen to secular music styles such as R&B and jazz.

She won a talent competition at her high school.The Ordettes were formed in 1960 with schoolmates Jean Brown, Yvonne Hogen and Johnnie Dawson.Two of the group's members left to marry, while one was forced to leave by her religious father.The Ordettes had three new members in 1962, Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx.They tried out for Harold Robinson, the local record label owner.Robinson agreed to work with the group after hearing LaBelle sing a song.Robinson thought that LaBelle was too dark and plain.[2]

After signing them, Robinson had them record as the Blue Belles and promote the recording of "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", which had been recorded by The Starlets.Due to label conflict, it was recorded as a Blue Belles single.Harold Robinson was sued by the manager of the Starlets for lip-syncing a song on American Bandstand.The group's name was changed after Robinson settled out of court.The group was initially referred to as "Patti Bell and the Blue Bells".After King Records issued the first hit single by the group, it became a top 40 hit on the pop and R&B charts.The group scored a second hit on the pop charts with their re-release of "You'll Never Walk Alone" in 1964."Danny Boy" was released that year.After the demise of Cameo-Parkway, the group moved to New York and signed with Atlantic Records, where they recorded twelve singles, including the mildly charted singles "All or Nothing" and "Take Me for a Little While".The group's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" was included in their Atlantic tenure.Birdsong left the group to join The Supremes and by 1970 they had been dropped from Atlantic Records and their manager.

Vicki Wickham, producer of the UK music show Ready, Steady, Go, agreed to manage the group after Dusty Springfield mentioned signing them.The group was advised by Wickham to change their name to simply Labelle and go for a more local look and sound.In 1971 the group opened for the Who on their U.S. tour.

Track Records released Labelle's self-titled debut album in 1971.The record's blend of rock and soul rhythms was a departure from the early sound of the group.They sang background vocals on Laura Nyro's album.The group released Moon Shadow a year later.The group was dressed in silver space suits and luminescent makeup.It was [13].

Nightbirds, Labelle's most successful album to date, was released in 1974 after their third album, Pressure Cookin', failed to generate a hit.The single, "Lady Marmalade", went number one on the Hot 100 and sold over a million copies, as did Nightbirds, which later earned a RIAA gold award.The first rock and roll vocal group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House was Labelle.Riding high on the success of "Lady Marmalade" and the Nightbirds album, Labelle made the cover of Rolling Stone in 1975.

In 1975, and 1976, Labelle released two more albums.None of the singles issued on those albums crossed over to the pop charts, despite the fact that both albums continued the group's critical success.The group's musical direction began to be argued over by Nona and Sarah.During a show in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 16, 1976, personal difficulties came to a head when Hendryx went backstage and injured herself during a nervous breakdown.LaBelle told the group to separate after the incident.

LaBelle's self-titled debut album was recorded in 1977 and was produced by David Rubinson.The disco hits, "Joy to Have Your Love" and "Dan Swit Me", became her first career- defining single despite its low ranking on the R&B chart."Come What May", "Release (The Tension)", and "I Don't Go Shopping" were the last three albums to be released in a row.

After four albums on Epic, LaBelle signed with Philadelphia International Records where she recorded a notable version of "Over the Rainbow" on the album The Spirit's in It.She starred in the Broadway musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God and was featured on the duet "The Best Is Yet to Come" in 1982."The Best Is Yet to Come" was nominated for a gramophone award.LaBelle's first top ten R&B singles were "Love, Need and Want You" and "If Only You Knew", both of which became her first number-one singles as a solo artist.She scored a hit with Bobby Womack on the song "Love Has Finally Come at Last" and also appeared as a club singer in the film A Soldier's Story.

The soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film, Beverly Hills Cop, contained the songs "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up"."New Attitude" was released as a single in late 1984 and became LaBelle's first solo hit, reaching number 17 on the Hot 100 and becoming a signature song."Stir It Up" was a staple in dance clubs.LaBelle was a part of the Live Aid concert and TV special in 1985.After performing on these two specials, LaBelle became a pop star and later had her own television special.In the same year, a video of a performance from her tour was released on VHS.LaBelle ended her contractual obligations to Philadelphia International and signed with MCA Records.

LaBelle was on stage with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick for Sisters in the Name of Love.LaBelle's best-selling solo album, Winner in You, reached number one on the pop charts.The international number-one hit, "On My Own", was included on the album.The success of Winner in You would prove to be the peak of her solo success, though she continued her acclaim with the 1989 release of Be Yourself, which featured "Yo Mister" and the hit song "If You Asked Me To".In the year of that album's release, LaBelle began a successful stint in a recurring role on A Different World, the success of which spawned a brief sitcom of her own, titled Out All Night, which only lasted a season.She recorded a duet version of Babyface's "Superwoman" with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick.Burnin', LaBelle's solo album, went gold with three top five singles on the R&B charts.This success led to LaBelle winning her firstGrammy Award in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category in 1992, sharing the win with singer Lisa Fischer, who won for her hit song, "How Can I Ease the Pain".[15]

The hit "The Right Kinda Lovers" was on LaBelle's 1994 album, Gems.The album, Flame, included the dance hit, "When You Talk About Love".The first of five best-selling cookbooks was released in 1997.She released a live album in 1998.One Night Only resulted in a second win in February.It is her most recent win.When a Woman Loves was released in 2000 before she signed with Def Soul Classics to release the 2004 album.LaBelle left the label after a rivalry with Antonio "L.A." Reid over the direction of her career.She received the Legend Award at the World Music Awards in the same year.She released her first album, The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle, in 2006 and it peaked at number one on the chart.The book, "Patti's Pearls", was released by LaBelle.In 2007, she returned to Def Jam and released her second holiday album.Back to Now was the group's first new album in more than 30 years.[18]

Two decades after her last Broadway performance, LaBelle returned to the stage in the award-winning musical Fela!Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is an Afrobeat legend.LaBelle played Fela's mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, through the end of the production on January 2, 2011.[20]

On May 23, 2011, LaBelle appeared on "Oprah's Farewell Spectacular, Part 1," the first show in a series of three shows constituting the finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show, singing "Over the Rainbow" with Josh Groban.The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to LaBelle at the BET Awards.LaBelle and Franklin performed at a concert hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House.[23]

The cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight welcomed her as "Special Guest Star" on June 10, 2014.In August of last year, it was announced that LaBelle would appear in a guest role on the fourth season of American Horror Story.[25]

On February 24, 2015, LaBelle was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.She and Artem Chigvintsev were partners.The couple was eliminated in Week 6 and finished in eighth place.LaBelle has sold out shows in various markets.She appeared on two cross-country USA tours.LaBelle made a guest appearance on Empire as herself.[29]

The New York Times Magazine listed LaBelle as one of hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the Universal fire.[32]

On July 2, LaBelle was honored in Philadelphia with a street named after her.[33]

LaBelle was the Flower on the second season of The Masked Singer.[34]

LaBelle wrote that she was raped by Wilson at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre.Otis Williams was the founding member of The Temptations.LaBelle married a friend in 1969.The couple separated in the late 1990s after LaBelle started her solo career.Their divorce was finalized in 2003 after the couple announced they had separated.They have a son who is her manager.

She died of lung cancer at the age of 43.Barbara Holte Purifoy died of colon cancer at 40.She lost her mother to diabetes.In 1989 she lost her father to emphysema brought on by Alzheimer's disease and her youngest sister to lung cancer.She was 43 when she died.In her 1991/ 92 concert tour, LaBelle dedicated her album Burnin' and her rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Padgett.The music video for "If You Asked Me To" was shot after Padgett left.LaBelle said that because of her family dying early, she wouldn't make it to 50 and that she felt her life was reborn after that age.LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes.She has condominiums in Los Angeles and Eleuthera, the Bahamas, as well as a home in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood.36

In 2010, LaBelle went into a rage and attacked a mother and her daughter.During a 10-minute rant in the lobby of the Trump Place Apartments in Manhattan, NY, the singer threw water, yelled obscenities, and attempted to assault the mother.LaBelle tried to get her son's deposition, where he lied that no altercation took place, after she agreed to a $100,000 settlement.The award was donated by the family.[37]

In June of 2011, a West Point cadet filed a civil suit against LaBelle after he was allegedly attacked by her bodyguards at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.Richard King, a cadet on spring break, was waiting to be picked up in the ride-share area when LaBelle and her group were on their way to a gig in Louisiana.King claimed that Labelle's team attacked him, causing a concussion, and that he provoked the attack.He was on a cell phone before the attack and did not engage any of the members of Labelle's group until after they attacked him.King was suspended from the military academy.He wanted $1 million in civil court for assault.LaBelle filed a counter-suit.The bodyguard of Labelle was acquitted of assault in November of last year.40