Description
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944)[1] best known as Patti LaBelle, is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".[2]She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and frontwoman of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the 1970s, they released the popular number-one hit "Lady Marmalade". As a result, 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", "Love, Need and Want You" (later sampled for 2002's "Dilemma"), "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up". Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored a number-one album Winner in You[3] and its number-one duet single, "On My Own", with Michael McDonald.[4]In 1989, Be Yourself spawned the standard "If You Asked Me To" (later covered by Celine Dion). LaBelle won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album Burnin', an album that featured "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)", "Feels Like Another One", and "When You've Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)".On June 10, 2014, LaBelle returned to Broadway as the cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, welcomed her as "Special Guest Star".[25] In August 2014, it was announced that LaBelle would appear in a guest role on the upcoming fourth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Freak Show.[26]On February 24, 2015, LaBelle was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.[27] She partnered with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.[28] The couple was eliminated on Week 6 and finished in eighth place.[29] LaBelle has consistently toured the United States selling out shows in various markets. In 2012 and 2014 she appeared with Frankie Beverly & Maze on cross-country USA tours. In 2015 LaBelle made a guest appearance on Fox's television series Empire as herself.[30]She is scheduled to be a "key advisor" on the NBC series The Voice.[31]Her first jazz album, Bel Hommage, was released in 2017.[32]On July 2, 2019, LaBelle was honored in Philadelphia with her very own street name Patti LaBelle Way between Locust and Spruce Street.[33]On November 20, 2019, LaBelle was revealed to have competed on the second season of The Masked Singer as "Flower"