Labelle

About Labelle

Labelle is an American R&B/soul group, who melded disco with funk and glam rock. The group was led by Patti LaBelle, who later had a solo career. Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash were the other 2 members. The group was best known for their gospel singing harmonies and the group sang of racism, sexism and eroticism. This female trio is responsible for the proto-disco funk classic "Lady Marmalade," and LaBelle's outlandish space-age costumes and brash incorporation of rock & roll were a far cry from their early days as a typical '60s girl group, not to mention the later solo career of Patti LaBelle. The group's songwriter was Nona Hendryx, who followed an idiosyncratic muse into her own solo career, which often bordered on the avant-garde.

In 1961, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash of the Del Capris joined Patricia Holt and Sundray Tucker as replacement singers for Holt's singing group, The Ordettes (when Tucker's parents made her leave the group, she was replaced by Cindy Birdsong). Patricia Holt had her name changed to Patti LaBelle after the group became “The Bluebelles”.

Though the first single was "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" (released as the Bluebelles), LaBelle relays in her memoir, (Don't Block The Blessings, that the group did not actually perform on the original track. The song's producer recorded it with “The Starlets” and renamed them the “Bluebelles”, but the group left upon the single's release.