Patti Labelle biography
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards (born May 24, 1944), better known under the stage name Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, author, and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry. LaBelle spent 16 years as lead singer of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, who changed their name to Labelle in the early 1970s and released the iconic disco song "Lady Marmalade".
LaBelle started her solo career shortly after the group disbanded in 1977 and crossed over to pop music with "On My Own", "If Only You Knew", "If You Asked Me To", "Stir It Up", and "New Attitude". She has also recorded R&B ballads such as "You Are My Friend" and "Love, Need and Want You".
LaBelle possesses the vocal range of a soprano. She has received recognition of her works, being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Hall of Fame, the Songwriters' Hall of Fame as well as the World Music Awards presenting her with the prestigious Legend Award. LaBelle has sold over 50 million records worldwide.
Biography
Patricia Louise Holte was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 24, 1944. Her father, Henry Holte (alternatively, Holt), was a railroad worker and lounge singer. Her mother, Bertha Holte, was a domestic and housewife. Patti was one of four daughters (Vivian, Barbara, herself and Jacqueline). She recalls having a happy childhood but said her parents had an unhappy marriage. When she was twelve, her parents split up and Bertha Holte raised her daughters as a single mother. Her mother later adopted Claudette Grant, who would become one of Patricia's closest friends.Despite her shyness, she was known for her gifted voice even as a child. After first joining her church choir at ten, she sang her first solo at the Beulah Baptist Church at the age of twelve. Growing up, Holte listened not only to gospel, but jazz and rhythm and blues. By her teens, "Patsy", as friends and family called her, also began listening to doo-wop and was encouraged to form a girl group in the late fifties. In 1958, she formed The Ordettes with three other friends. The following year, when two members of the group dropped out, singers Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, from a former rival group, joined them. Eventually with Cindy Birdsong included in the lineup by 1961 and with respected music impresario Bernard Montague managing them, the group gained a reputation around Philadelphia and soon caught the eye of a record scout, who introduced them to Newtown Records president Harold Robinson.
After hearing Holte's voice during an audition, Robinson, who nearly ditched the group due to their looks - he allegedly thought Holte was "too plain and dark" to lead a singing group - agreed to sign the group, renaming them The Blue Belles (the name would simply be "The Bluebelles" by the mid"‘1960s), after a Newtown subsidiary label.
Early career
Not long after signing, the group was credited with the hit single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", though the song was recorded by another girl group, the Chicago-based The Starlets. This led to a. lawsuit by a manager of the group and its record label boss, later resulting in the group winning $5,000 in damages. "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" eventually reached the Billboard top 20. Despite this credited success, the group could not follow up with any other hit. The Blue Belles supported themselves by constantly touring including an appearance at the Apollo Theater.Biography from
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