Tag Archives: Patti LaBelle

Music Monday: November 25, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

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Just a quick reminder: With the festive season upon us, Music Mondays will be preempted for the next four weeks because starting December 1st, my annual Christmas music feature will begin. I hope you will stay for that & share some of your favorite holiday songs with me as well. And to all of you celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I wish you a happy & safe day.

The recent loss of Quincy Jones is a massive one to anyone who listened to music at any point in the last 70 years. He died on November 3 at the age of 91 leaving behind a seven decade career that began while he was in high school honing his skills as a trumpeter and arranger before he went on to play for Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. Jones met Ray Charles while he was on the way up as well, and the two formed a lifelong friendship.

Jones’ talent led to work with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and many other artists. Jones began working on movie scores in 1964 and continued in that genre for the rest of his career.

The 1970’s & 1980’s brought more fame and recognition including Jones’ work with Michael Jackson & on the USA For Africa charity single, “We Are The World”. In November 1989 Jones released, Back On The Block, a standout for me which reunited him with his old friend, Ray Charles, for a fantastic cover of a great song Jones produced back in 1976 for The Brothers Johnson. Rest in peace, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. Thank you for every note. 

Quincy

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Three other noteworthy releases from 1989 were released in the same month:

Patti Labelle: Her ninth solo album, Be Yourself, from June 1989 included a song that gave the singer the opportunity to add her tremendous voice to a James Bond movie soundtrack. The film, “Licence to Kill”, led by Timothy Dalton as the man who preferred his martini shaken, not stirred, featured fellow soul and R&B singer Gladys Knight on the title track. As fabulous as that song is, Labelle’s soaring ballad takes center stage for me. .

Patti

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Van Morrison: He released Avalon Sunset 35 years ago in June 1989. The two most notable songs include “These Are The Days” featured in the 1995 movie “Nine Months”. The other is an absolutely beautiful love song covered by Rod Stewart for his 1991 Vagabond Heart album. It became a #5 hit for him two years later after he delivered a very moving performance of it during his MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. I love it along with everything else Stewart does, but Morrison’s original is even more heartfelt as the words and emotions are all his own. He recorded it with The Chieftans for their version featured on their 1995 album, The Long Black Veil. It earned them a Grammy Award the following year for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

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(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bad English: Five years after the massive success of his solo song, “Missing You“, John Waite teamed up with his old bandmate from The Babys-keyboardist Jonathan Cain-and his Journey bandmate-guitarist Neil Schon-to form the supergroup, Bad English. Rounding out the lineup was Styx bassist Ricky Phillips and drummer Deen Castronovo. Even with all that star power, the first single from the band’s self-titled debut album released in June 1989 was written by multi-award winning songwriter, Diane Warren. Bad English disbanded after their second album, 1991’s Backlash.

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(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds’ third studio album, For the Cool in You, hit the music scene in August 1993. It produced five singles with the last one being released in May 1994. It not only became the most successful song from the album-it peaked at #4 on the chart that September-but it also became the top selling single of his career to date. It is a simple yet elegant love song that showcases his voice beautifully and stands out as my favorite song from his extensive catalog. I fell in love with it all over again after his acoustic performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards where it won him the trophy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Babyface

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Quincy Jones (featuring Ray Charles and Chaka Khan): “I’ll Be Good To You” (1989, written by George Johnson, Louis Johnson and Sonora Sam).

Patti LaBelle “If You Asked Me To” (1989, written by Diane Warren).

Van Morrison: “Have I told You Lately” (1989, written by Van Morrison).

Bad English: “When I See You Smile” (1989, written by Diane Warren).

Babyface: “When Can I See You Again” (1993, written by Kenneth Edmonds).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: June 3, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

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Patricia Louise Holt, better known as the iconic Patti LaBelle, celebrated birthday #80 last month. Born on May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was another R&B performer who began singing in church as a child. Her self-titled group, LaBelle, had a #1 hit in 1975 with “Lady Marmalade”. She went solo in 1977 and had hits with “New Attitude”, “If You Asked Me To” and a #1 duet with Michael McDonald in 1986. In addition to her music career which earned her two Grammy Awards, she has also acted, written her autobiography, several cookbooks and is well regarded as a fashion & style guru.

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Patti LaBelle circa 2000. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Another musical legend turned 80 in May. Gladys Maria Knight was born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia. Regarded as “The Empress Of Soul”, the multiple Grammy Award winner is best known as the lead singer of Gladys Knight & The Pips, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996. She has enjoyed a solo career which includes her performance on the 1985 song, “That’s What Friends Are For”, film & TV acting roles, multiple honors and accolades for her status as one of the greatest singers of all time.

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Gladys Knight circa 2022. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The self-titled debut studio album by supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash was released 55 years ago on May 29, 1969 by Atlantic Records. Each member established themselves in the groups The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and The Hollies, respectively, but together their songs and harmonies put them in their own lane where they made musical history. Even when they were joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young, it is the three core members who are best known as one of the greatest folk rock groups of all time. And their very first album started that legacy.

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(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald: “On My Own” (1986, written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager).

Gladys Knight & The Pips: “Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” (1972, written by Jim Weatherly).

Crosby, Stills & Nash: “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (1969, written by Stephen Stills).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 23, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

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Two of the biggest songwriters this country ever gave us were born in May. Their songs were staples on the radio in the 1960’s & 1970’s and continue to inspire “anyone who has a heart”.

Lyricist Hal David was born on May 25, 1921 in New York City. Almost eight years later, his collaborator, Burt Bacharach was born May 12, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri. David started writing songs in the 1940’s for bandleaders like Guy Lombardo and Sammy Kaye while also contributing lyrics to the 1951 movie soundtrack of “Two Gals And A Guy”.

Bacharach was raised in Queens, NY and studied classical piano before discovering his love for jazz music. He received a degree in music in 1948, then served two years in the United States Army in the early 1950’s. After his tour of duty he worked as a pianist for Vic Damone before touring Europe in 1956 as the part time music director for actress Marlene Dietrich’s nightclub shows. In 1957 Bacharach met David at The Brill Building in NYC. That same year the duo had their first hit together, a #1 country song, “The Story Of My Life” by Marty Robbins.

After a number of successful collaborations over the next several years, Bacharach & David made their partnership official in 1963. That move & their work with today’s singer started the songwriting duo’s reign as two of America’s most treasured composers. They won every award out there including the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1970 for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

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Bacharach (L) and David (R) at the 1970 Academy Awards Ceremony. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Fans of their music include Herb Alpert, Bette Midler, Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, Elvis Costello and a myriad of others including The Ambassador Of Cool, Isaac Hayes. He did a glorious 12 minute soulful/psychedelic/funk inspired cover of today’s song on his 1969 release, Hot Buttered Soul.

In a previous post about this song I wrote:

Years later I heard today’s song, written by this prolific duo, and I absolutely swooned.  The singer is not one of my favorites but her work with this extraordinary writing team was a powerful force in the 1960’s.  Her voice is so soft and pretty, and delivers a great vocal to a gorgeous arrangement.  It is the best of what a sad love song should be:  succinct, poignant, evocative and leaving you begging for one more note.  I love so many Bacharach & David compositions (“Anyone Who Had A Heart”, “This Guy’s In Love With You”, “One Less Bell To Answer”, “A House Is Not A Home” “The Look Of Love” to name a few) but this one I adore.

David died in 2012 at the age of 91. Bacharach turned 94 years young on May 12. Together they wrote a chapter of music history that remains unmatched. And today’s track remains my favorite from their remarkable partnership.

“If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk on by
Walk on by“.

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L to R: Hal David, Dionne Warwick & Burt Bacharach in the studio circa 1964  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dionne Warwick: “Walk On By” (1964, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 16, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

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This week is a Motown Music Monday because we have three powerhouses from that genre with birthdays this month. I discovered this polarizing style of singing as a young child thanks to my parents. They bought a K-Tel compilation of this remarkable sound and that four album set changed me in a profound way. The voices from the Motor City became my first great musical love.

Songwriter & producer Norman Whitfield was born in Harlem, NY on May 12, 1940. He co-wrote & produced my favorite Motown song of all time, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” along with other tracks recorded by Marvin Gaye including “That’s The Way Love Is” and “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby”. Whitfield was also one of the writers behind Edwin Starr’s “War” and several hits by The Temptations including “I Wish It would Rain”, “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)”, “I Can’t Get Next to You”, “I Know) I’m Losing You” as well as one of today’s featured songs.

After Whitfield left Motown in 1970 when the label relocated to California, he started his own eponymous recording company. His success as a songwriter continued with hits like “Smiling Faces Sometimes” for The Undisputed Truth and the theme song from the 1976 movie, “Car Wash” by Rose Royce. The mark Whitfield left on music, Motown & the industry is indelible. We lost this prolific artist in 2008.

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Norman Whitfield circa 1975. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.).

What is left to say about “The Eighth Wonder Of The World”, Stevie Wonder, who turned 72 last week? The child prodigy born Stevland Hardaway Morris on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, MI began his career in The Motor City at age 11 as Little Stevie Wonder. His career grew even bigger as an adult in the 1970’s with three Album Of The Year Grammy awards for Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness‘ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). His talent continued to dominate from there and today, with over six decades of musical brilliance under his belt, Wonder continues to show us all how genius is defined.

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Stevie Wonder circa 1974. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

“The Empress Of Soul” Gladys Knight will celebrate birthday number 78 on May 28. She was born that day in 1944 in Atlanta, GA & began singing in the church by age five. Three years later, she won an amateur hour contest on a local TV show, then joined her brother (future Pip Merald “Bubba” Knight, Jr.) and a few other relatives to form a group, By the late 1950’s, they were signed to Brunswick Records and were opening shows for Jackie Wilson & Sam Cooke. In 1966 Knight & her revised group, The Pips, signed with Motown. But their real success came with their next label, Buddah Records, in the early 1970’s. Knight became a solo act in the following decade & collaborated with the likes of Elton John, Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle and others. She also became part of the James Bond movie music legacy when she recorded “License To Kill” in 1989. She remains one of the greatest female singers of all time.

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Gladys Knight circa 1972. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.).

NOTE: Both Wonder & Knight appear in the stunning Oscar-winning 2021 documentary, “Summer Of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”. If you have not seen it yet, PLEASE stop reading now (you can come back later) and head over to Hulu NOW to watch it. You cannot go another day without the music & performances from this film in your life. You’re welcome.

The Temptations: “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (1966, written by Norman Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr.).

Stevie Wonder: “I Was Made To Love Her” (1967, written by Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby).

Gladys Knight & The Pips: “Midnight Train To Georgia” (1973, written by Jim Weatherly).

Stay safe & well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 134

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Thoreau music quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

When two of my favorite singers join forces it is just magical for me.  And no two voices ever sounded quite so good together than Patti Labelle’s and Michael McDonald’s.  I loved her from her 1970’s group Labelle and her solo career that followed, and I just swooned over him as a member of The Doobie Brothers.  Together they took this song to number one for three weeks in June 1986.  Written by the ineffable Burt Bacharach and his then wife, Carole Bayer Sager. this is a gorgeous tale of two broken hearts.  And one of my favorite duets ever.

“So many promises never should be spoken
Now I know what loving you cost
Now we’re up to talking divorce
And we weren’t even married.”

Patti

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald:  “On My Own” (1986, written by Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 123

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Thoreau music quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

When I was 11 years old, I learned the lyrics to a song from the radio.  I only heard it once yet I knew the words to the chorus after one listen.  Yes, I had a good memory but most of the credit was due to the unique and catchy lyrics.  Even more impressive was the fact that the part of the song I learned was in French and before that I could not recall ever speaking one word in that language.  So the next time the song came on the radio, I sang along.  And my mother thought it was adorable.  Until a week later when her cousin told her what the words in french meant.

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?  Translation:  Do you want to sleep with me?

Even more shocking is the fact that this song was co-written by Kenny Nolan who had a hit in 1976 called “I Like Dreaming”.  How he got to that god-awful song from today’s is beyond me.  But thanks to his collaboration on today’s pick I discovered Patti LaBelle, her glorious voice and outrageous wardrobe.  Oh, and a song I was banned from ever singing again for all of eternity.  Which only made me love it that much more.  🙂

LaBelle

LaBelle circa 1975 (L-R):  Nona Hendrix, Patti LaBelle & Sarah Dash.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

LaBelle:  “Lady Marmalade” (1974, written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.