Gamble and Huff had worked with the trio on "Gonna Take a Miracle," a 1971 collaboration with Laura Nyro. Labelle, Gamble said in a phone interview, symbolizes a historic cultural shift: "People were really starting to feel free to respect themselves more. Labelle was part of that transition."
In 1974, possibilities seemed endless, both in pop and in human relationships. Even in that context, Labelle was unbound. "Back to Now" taps into the sound and spirit that made the trio unique. Perhaps now Labelle, so much more than a one-hit wonder, will no longer be hidden in plain sight.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, October 12, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Labelle: An article in today's Arts & Books section about the vocal group Labelle said its new album, "Back to Now," is being released on the Vanguard label. Verve is releasing the album.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, October 19, 2008 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 1 inches; 29 words Type of Material: Correction
Labelle: An article last Sunday about the vocal group Labelle said its new album, "Back to Now," was being released on the Vanguard label. Verve is releasing the album.
As tight as LaBelle, Hendryx and Dash remain after four decades of friendship, they are very different women. LaBelle (whose birth name is Holt; the group made the "B" in her stage name lower-case) is everybody's mama, famous for her cookbooks and wig line as well as her powerhouse vocals. But her touring and recording schedule delayed this reunion for several years.
She'd avoided Labelle's albums since the group had disbanded. "Once I finish a project I don't listen," she explained. "It's a wrap. A few years ago, I was forced to listen; someone was playing Labelle in the car. I said, 'Damn, we're hot!' I realized how different we were. And we weren't turning people off; we were turning people on."
Asked what she gets from a Labelle reunion, she made a characteristically sassy joke. "I don't have to sing lead all night. Take the weight off Fanny!" she said, paraphrasing a lyric from the Band's song "The Weight." "Let Patti lay back on the piano and drink some water; let Sarah and Nona work."
But she also spoke emphatically about Hendryx's songs.
"It offers me the writing of Nona Hendryx, who is totally overlooked as one of the greater writers today. She always writes with me in mind."
LaBelle's solo career is the elephant in Labelle's room. The trio split partly because Labelle missed singing big ballads like "Over the Rainbow," still a highlight of her live shows. Her subsequent hits made her a staple of black-oriented "quiet storm" radio, and though her live audience remains diverse, her superstar status is in the black-pop world.
"Patti LaBelle is a household name," said David Nathan, co-owner of the site soulmusic.com, who's known the group since the 1970s. "Americans know who she is. But if you ask most music buyers to name a Patti LaBelle solo hit, they can't. Black audiences can. But that's part of the nature of America."
