Frogtoon Music

Lady Marmalade by Labelle

Artist Biography For Labelle

LaBelle Is An American R&B/soul Group From Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA Who Successfully Melded Dance Music With Funk And Glam Rock. Mostly Active In The 60s And 70s Disband But Reformed In 2005. Their Most Recognised Song Is "Lady Marmalade". The Group Was Led By Patti LaBelle Who Later Had A Successful Solo Career. Nona Hendryx Sarah Dash And Cindy Birdsong Rounded Out The Group With Hendryx Especially Notable As A Prolific Songwriter. In 1961 Nona Hendryx And Sarah Dash Of The Del Capris Joined Patricia Holt And Sandra 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 Didn't Actually Perform On The Original Track. As She Tells It The Song's Producer Had Recorded It With Starlets And Renamed Them The Bluebelles But The Group Left Upon The Single's Release. He Quickly Recruited The Ordettes To Perform And Promote The Single Using The Bluebells' Moniker And "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman" Was Later Recut By The New Group. The Song Was A Hit As Was The New Bluebelle's 1963 Follow-Ups "Down The Aisle" "You'll Never Walk Alone" 1964 Rodgers & Hammerstein And "Danny Boy" A Traditional Irish Folk Song . They Signed With Atlantic Records In 1965 Releasing "Over The Rainbow" And "Groovy Kind Of Love" Later A Hit For The Mindbenders And Phil Collins With Only Mild Success. They Also Contributed Background Vocals To Tony Kosinec's "Simple Emotion" And Wilson Pickett's Hit "634-5789" In 1966. Along The Line They Had Extended Their Name To Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. In 1967 The Group Became A Trio After Cindy Birdsong Left To Join The Supremes Replacing Florence Ballard. Three Years Later The Group Lost Their Contract And Hired Vicki Wickham A British TV Producer To Remake Their Image. She Changed The Name To Labelle And Pushed The Group To A More Contemporary Sound Incorporated Glam Influences Particularly In The Spectacular Spacey Stage Costumes That Included Large Amounts Of Glitter Feathers And Other Acoutrements. In The Early 70s Labelle Opened For The Who And Lent Their Unmistakably Powerful Vocals To Laura Nyro's Gonna Take A Miracle Album In 1971 Now Considered A Classic . Two Songs From This Album "Desiree" And "Gonna Take A Miracle" Were Used In The 2004 Colin Farrell Film A Home At The End Of The World To Great Dramatic Effect -- Especially "Gonna Take A Miracle " At The End Of The Film. Labelle Also Contributed To Nikki Giovanni's "Peace Be Still". The Group Released Labelle In 1971 On Warner Brothers Records. It Included Covers Of Songs By The Rolling Stones Kenny Rogers Carole King And Laura Nyro. The Following Album Moonshadow 1972 Even Though It Included Covers Of Famous Songs "MoonShadow" By Cat Stevens And The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" Gave Hendryx More Freedom To Write Material For Labelle. The Album Flopped Commercially As Did The Third Labelle Album Pressure Cookin 1973 Released On RCA Records. By This Time And Until Labelle's Break-Up Hendryx Wrote Most Of Labelle's Material Taking The Songs In A Highly Experimental Direction That Was A Far Cry From The Sound That The Bluebelle's And Most Other "girl Groups" Of The Era Had Performed. Although The Album Wasn't Commercially Successful Pressure Cookin' Allowed Her To Hone Her Talents As A Songwriter Clearly Demonstrated By The Moving " Can I Speak To You Before You Go To Hollywood " Which Was Based On The Way The Ladies Felt When People Who Had "made It" In The Business No Longer Were Interested In Keeping In Contact With Patti Sarah Or Nona. After Pressure Cookin' Labelle Signed With Epic Records And Recorded An Album Nightbirds With Allen Toussaint A Famous Record Producer. "Lady Marmalade" A Sexy Funky Disco Song About A New Orleans Prostitute With A Come-Hither French Chorus "Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi?" Became A Massive Hit In 1975 And One Of The First Mainstream Disco Hits Jones And Kantonen 1999 . The Success Of The Single Also Pushed The Album To The Top Of The Charts. It Would Be Covered By Numerous Artists Including Madchester-Era Indie The Happy Mondays Spliced Into "Kinky Afro" And Most Notably Christina Aguilera Lil' Kim Mya And P!nk For The Moulin Rouge! Soundtrack. Labelle's Commercial Momentum After Nightbirds And "Lady Marmalade" Decreased In Spite Of Several Hits And The Critically Acclaimed Experimental Albums Phoenix 1975 And Chameleon 1976 . When The Group Split Up In 1976 Hendryx And LaBelle Managed Successful Solo Careers While Sarah Dash Had A Few Notable Dance Hits "Sinner Man" 1978 Which Gained Her Much Public Attention And "Lucky Tonight" 1984 With Sylvester Singing Background Vocals. Dash Also Acted On Television For The PBS Series "Watch Your Mouth " 1978 And Has Performed On Broadway. Her Career Picked Up Again Om The 90s When She Was Asked To Sing With The Rolling Stones On Their Steel Wheels Album And Even More So When She Became One Of Keith Richards' "X-Pensive Winos " And Was Given Solo And Duet Opportunities With His Band Namely The Duet Ballad "Make No Mistake " And Solo "Time Is On My Side " Which Richards Said In His Autobiography Is "the Best Version He Has Ever Heard" . LaBelle Hendryx And Dash Have Reunited Several Times Including A Famed 1991 Reunion At The Apollo Theater 30 Years After The Group First Stole The Audience's Hearts At The Same Venue. The Concert Was Recorded As A Live Album. A Brief Reunion Came In The Form Of The Huge Dance Succes "Turn It Out " From The To Wong Foo Soundtrack. They Reunited Again In 2001 To Honor Patti On BET's "Walk Of Fame " Where The Performed An Explosive Version Of "What Can I Do For You " As Well As "Lady Marmalade" The Most Recentl Reunion Was In 2005 During A Tribute To Patti's 45th Anniversary In Show Business. In January 2006 Labelle Again Reunited To Record "Dear Rosa " A Tribute To The Late Civil Rights Champion Rosa Parks. The Release Date Of The Single Has Not Been Set At This Time. There Are Also Plans For An Entire Reunion Album And Tour Most Likely To Happen In 2007. In Addition Labelle Will Contribute Songs For The Soundtrack For The Upcoming Film "Preaching To The Choir." There Are Other Artists With The Same Name 2 LaBelle Aka LaBelle Rocks Is A Rock Band From Madrid Spain With Strong Influence From 1950s Music And Appearance. Their Current Lineup Consists Of Alicia Montesquiu Pedro Herrero Mey Alean And Carlos Mirat.
Cinema Is His First Album Produced By Filmmaker Juanma Bajo Ulloa With A First Celebrated Single FIRE! And The Musical Production By Fernando Montesinos And David Kano. His Second Album Accidents A Very Personal And Enveloping Work Again With The Musical Talent Of Fernando Montesinos In Production For Noisy Sound And Paco Ortega For Musigrama In One Of The Songs. 3 Labelle Jérémy Labelle Maloya-Electronic Composer From Reunion Island. Founder Member Of Eumolpe. "...Resolutely Syncretic The Universe Of Labelle Unites Maloya From Réunion Traditional Music And Electronics Colored With Indian And African Touches..."

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Lady Marmalade

"Lady Marmalade" Is A 1974 Song Made Famous By The Girl Group Labelle. Produced By Allen Toussaint "Lady Marmalade" Became A Number-One Hit The Next Year. An Early Disco Hit The Song Is Most Famous For Its Sexually Suggestive Chorus Of "voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir ?" The Song Held The Number-One Spot On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart In The United States For One Week. Labelle's Version Of "Lady Marmalade" Was Inducted Into The Grammy Hall Of Fame In 2003. "Lady Marmalade" Was Written By Bob Crewe Who Co-Wrote Many Of The Hits Recorded By The Four Seasons And Kenny Nolan. The Songwriting Pair Had Previously Collaborated On The Hit Frankie Valli Song "My Eyes Adored You". The Song Came About After Crewe Made First-Hand Observations In New Orleans. First Recorded By The Relatively Obscure Group Eleventh Hour Of Which Songwriter Nolan Was A Member In 1974 On Eleventh Hour's Greatest Hits LP Labelle's Producer Allen Toussaint Decided To Record It As The Main Track For The Album Nightbirds Which Would Become Highly Successful. The Record Was Produced By Toussaint With Instrumental Backing From The Meters. Although The Song Gave Way To Many Cover Versions Over The Years The Most Successful Was Recorded In 2001 By Singers Christina Aguilera Lil' Kim Mya & Pink As A Single For The Moulin Rouge! Film's Soundtrack. Missy Elliott Produced The Version With Instrumental Help From Beatsmith Rockwilder. The Song Was Mixed By World Renowned Audio Engineer Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado. Their Version Was A Number-One Hit On The Billboard Hot 100 In The U.S. For Five Weeks From May 26 To June 30 2001. The Moulin Rouge! Version Of "Lady Marmalade" Was Also A Number-One Hit In The United Kingdom And Australia Introducing The Song To A Whole New Generation Of Music Listeners And Brought The Song's Infamous Catchphrase Back Into Mainstream Culture. In 2004 LaBelle's Original Version Of "Lady Marmalade" Was Ranked #479 On Rolling Stone's List Of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. In The United Kingdom The Song Has Been Sung On Several Talent Shows Including The X Factor By Leona Lewis And On Eurovision Your Country Needs You By Jade Ewen Where In Both Instances The Lyric "voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir ?" Was Changed To "voulez-Vous Chanter Avec Moi Ce Soir ?". Labelle's Original Version Recorded With Lead Singer Patti LaBelle And Accompanied With Backing From Bandmates Nona Hendryx And Sarah Dash It Tells The Story Of A Woman Known Only As "Lady Marmalade" Who Seduces A Man She Met On The Street In New Orleans Louisiana. Although The Man Has Moved On From The Experience His Memories Of Their Tryst Remain Vivid When He Tries To Sleep. The Song's Chorus "Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir ?" Means "Do You Want To Sleep With Me Tonight ?" In French An Unsubtle Invitation For Sexual Intercourse. The Same Line Appeared Previously In The Play A Streetcar Named Desire Coming From The Promiscuous Blanche DuBois. "Lady Marmalade" Was A Number-One Hit For One Week On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart In The United States During The Early Spring Of 1975 And Charted At Number-One For One Week On The Billboard Top Soul Singles Chart. Along With The Track What Can I Do For You?" "Lady Marmalade" Peaked At Number Seven On The Disco/dance Charts. The Single Also Charted At Number Seventeen In The United Kingdom. "Lady Marmalade" Replaced Another Crewe/Nolan Composition Frankie Valli's "My Eyes Adored You" As The Billboard Hot 100 Number-One Single. This Made Crewe And Nolan The Third Songwriting Team In Billboard History After Lennon-McCartney And Holland-Dozier-Holland To Replace Themselves At Number-One. The Single's Disco Success Inspired Labelle To Adopted A More Eclectic Funkadelic-Based Image For Their Next Album Phoenix. However The Group Never Had Another Top Forty Hit After "Lady Marmalade" And Broke Up In 1976. Patti LaBelle Went On To Have A Successful Solo Career On Another CBS Records-Owned Label Columbia Records. Also In 1975 Nanette Workman Recorded A French Version That Became Very Popular In Canada Quebec . The Song Was First Covered By Sheila E. On Her 1991 Album Sex Cymbal In A Jazz-Oriented Rendition With Horns As The Centerpiece. In 1995 Disco Cover Band Boogie Knights Covered "Lady Marmalade" Fronted By Singer Jeff Scott Soto. In 1999 The Song Was Covered By The Techno Act Lords Of Acid As A Bonus Track On Their Remix Album Expand Your Head. The Song Is Not Part Of The Official Track Listing On The CD Itself However. Luck Mervil Made A Second French Version Of The Song. More Recently The Track Has Featured In The TV Series Angel Performed By Actor Andy Hallett And Was Released On The Soundtrack In 2005. The Labelle Version Appears In Several Films Including The Long Kiss Goodnight Dick And Jacob's Ladder. In March 2008 Comcast Began To Use The Song And Its "more More More" Refrain To Promote Its "On Demand" Service -- The Ad Also Features The "voulez-Vous" Line As The Ad Ends. Improbably The Lyrics Of "Lady Marmalade" Were Sung To The Tune Of The Toreador Song From Carmen By Tim Brooke-Taylor On The Radio Comedy Panel-Game Show "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" As Part Of A Round Called "One Song To The Tune Of Another". It Was Featured On The Video Game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 As A Version Performed With Patti Labelle.

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