Patti LaBelle, one of the most overlooked musical legends of the last half century, performed a stirring concert Friday night at Promenade Park.
“Lady Marmalade,” the snappy classic written and recorded for disco crowds in 1974, is her signature song and was one of the biggest reasons LaBelle was selected one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Singers of all-time in its 2008 poll voted on by 179 musical experts.
She belted it out late in the show — much to the delight of concert-goers who were gathered for the last of ProMedica’s Live Concert Series of the season.
LaBelle, 78, incorporated dance, strut, and attitude into an act dominated by some wide-ranging singing pipes. She graced the stage in a bright red top, pants, and flowing waistcoat and was clearly enjoying the show as much as those in the audience.
They came to see a performer with decades of staying power and a voice that amazingly hasn’t lost a decibel of its power.
And she greeted them thusly:
“My! My! Toledo, Ohio! Detroit! Wherever you are from!”
When someone up front shouted out where they had traveled from, Ms. LaBelle was somewhat astonished: “Chicago? Really!”
Then she recognized the nonpaying customers seated in folding chairs outside the concert venue.
“Hey, people on the street,” she beckoned, “it’s gonna be a hot time tonight!”
And it was just that – a fast-paced, fun show that couldn’t go wrong with her singing range and style.
Rolling Stone, which had her ranked just ahead of Mary J. Blige, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Joe Cocker, and B.B. King among the top 100 singers ever, summarized her career:
“Patti LaBelle pushes everything she sings over the top, from her early-Sixties hits with the Bluebelles through her politically minded Seventies records with her space-funk trio, LaBelle – including the French Quarter funk of ‘Lady Marmalade’…to the past few decades’ solo albums. She inspired generations of soul singers – a pre-fame Luther Vandross was the first president of her fan club.”
Rolling Stone also listed Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, and Blige as stars LaBelle influenced. She’s nicknamed “The Godmother of Soul.”
In describing her performance style, the music Bible noted: “Her love of the spotlight is legendary, but she earns it with her astonishing force and control; when LaBelle’s voice simmers in its churchy low register, it’s usually a sign that she’s about to leap up and howl the roof off.”
And she howled song after song.
Rolling Stone quoted producer Kenny Gamble: “She makes lyrics come alive. And after all these years of singing, she’s hitting notes that some opera stars can’t hit.”
Other key tracks for LaBelle are “On My Own” (with Michael McDonald), “New Attitude” from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, and “If Only You Knew.”
The Grammy Award winner played them all.
What makes “Lady Marmalade,” written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, stick in the heads of radio listeners and concert-goers alike?
It’s that French refrain:
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”
Translated:
“Do you want to sleep with me tonight?
“Do you want to sleep with me?”
The suggestive lyrics are repeated eight times in the song.
LaBelle chuckled and told The Blade on Wednesday: “I had no idea [the song] was about a hooker. I just loved the hook; it was so catchy, but I had no idea it meant, ‘Will you sleep with me tonight?’”
She belted out the opening lyrics:
“Hey sister, go sister
Soul sister, go sister.”
And then there was the totally fun:
“Gitchi-gitchi, ya-ya, da-da
Gitchi-gitchi ya-ya here
Mocha chocolate, ya-ya”
The song – which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1975 -- worked its magic again on a 70-degree night along the banks of the Maumee River.
LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte in Philadelphia and along with bandmates Nona Hendryx and the late Sarah Dash were the first African-American vocal group to make the cover of Rolling Stone, and the first pop group to play the Metropolitan Opera House.
Promenade Park got her Friday night, and the crowd swaying and pointing skyward throughout the show, indicated she had connected once again.
First Published September 17, 2022, 2:04 a.m.
