Patti LaBelle

Background

Patricia Louise Holte, best known as Patti LaBelle, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Henry Holte who was a railroad worker & lounge singer, and Bertha Holte, a homemaker. She is the third of the couple’s four daughters. After her parents’ divorce, she was raised alone by her mother. She was cautious and demure as a youngster, although she was best friends with Claudette Grant — whom her mother had fostered. She was a member of the church choral group and had a deep voice. She sang her debut single at the Beulah Baptist Church when she was 12 years old. She loved listening to jazz, R&B music, and other genres in addition to gospel music.

Patsy was her nickname as she approached adolescence. In 1958, she accomplished her aim of founding a girl group by forming The Ordettes with three companions. The organization —which began informally — was reduced to two members after two of them freely quit. The circumstances quickly altered when vocalists Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash joined The Ordettes. Cindy Birdsong started The Ordettes in 1961. Bernard Montague — the well-known music promoter — became their manager. The group’s career graph appeared to be on the rise as it garnered a lot of popularity and notoriety in and around Philadelphia. The Ordettes were presented to Harold Robinson — President of Newtown Records, however, Robinson first turned down the band because of their unassuming appearances and plain Jane style, but after hearing LaBelle’s singing, he agreed to sign them. He then changed the name of the band to The Blue Belles.

The Blue Belles’ debut single, ‘I Sold My Heart to the Junkman,’ became a massive hit. Despite reaching the Billboard top 20, the song’s credit sparked a controversy. Due to legal concerns, Robinson altered the group’s name to Patti LaBelle and The Blue Belles. Robinson gave Holte the name ‘LaBelle,’ which meant ‘the beautiful’ in French. The band left Newtown Records the following year to join Cameo-Parkway Records. ‘Down the Aisle’— the group’s debut single for Cameo-Parkway Records — went on to become a worldwide success. The song made the top 40 charts. It was followed by two additional chart-topping singles — ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Danny Boy.’ When the band returned to the United States, they changed their band name to Labelle and landed a record deal with Track Records.

After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, ‘You Are My Friend.’ LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles, ‘If Only You Knew,’ ‘New Attitude’ and ‘Stir It Up,’ with the latter two crossing over to pop audiences and becoming radio staples. Her 1991 record, “Burnin,” earned her, her first Grammy award. It had 10 hits, sold 500,000 copies, and became her third gold album. She followed up her Grammy win in 1998 with the release of the live C.D. —”One Night Only!” She has, however, been in various sitcoms and performed in several programs, in addition to producing music C.Ds. With the award-winning musical “Fela!” she successfully returned to Broadway. She also played at the 9/11 memorial for President Barack Obama. Talking about her personal life, Armstead Edwards married her in 1969. They raised a girl and adopted two boys. The pair eventually separated in 2003.

Throughout her seven-decade career, she has sold over 50 million recordings worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into three halls of fame — the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame. “Rolling Stone” featured LaBelle on their list of the ‘100 Greatest Singers.’ LaBelle is a dramatic soprano known for her vocal strength, range, and emotional delivery.