Patti Labelle and Leela James

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, Patricia Holte-Edwards developed her vocal talents whilst being part of the church choir, with her vocal talents recognised at an early age. Together with friends Nonah Hendryx, Sarah Dash and Cindy Birdsong, they formed the vocal group the BlueBelles, later shortened to the LaBelles. The group went on to have a career full of top ten hits, most notably the pioneering disco number, “Lady Marmalade,” which reached number one on the Billboard Carts, sending the group into wide critical acclaim, becoming the first African American vocal group to be on the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1975. Following differences with their musical direction, the LaBelles split in 1977, with Patti LaBelle embarking upon a solo career shortly after.

LaBelle went on to have great success as a solo artist, releasing ecords frequently throughout her forty-year career. As a solo artist, she got her first number one hit with the Michael McDonald duet “On My Own” (1986), with her album “Winner in You,” released that same year, peaking at number one on the Billboard album charts. The song went on to sell over a million copies and be certified Platinum. In 1992, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album “Burnin’.” The album featured three top ten hits and sold half a million copies.

As well as being a recording artist, LaBelle has also featured in a number of stage productions, performing in “Your Arms Too Sort to Box with God,” and in later years as Fela Kuti’s mother in the award winning musical “Fela.”

Patti LaBelle has been hugely influential to a number of artists following her work with the LaBelles and as a solo artist. She has helped spur the rise of Disco in America, with the hit songs “Lady Marmalade” and “Messin’ with My Mind.” She has inspired a whole generation of soul singers, with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Donna Summer, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

The young songstress has a voice beyond her years and is hailed by critics as a soul revival. She includes artists such as James Brown, Roberta Flack, Toni Braxton, Mavis Staples, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway as influences whilst her vocal abilities and tones are often likened to Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner. Her debut album 'A Change Is Gonna Come' was praised for its rich, gravelled tone incorporating traditional soul techniques with contemporary genres such as R & B and funk. It included collaborations with Raphael Saadiq and Kanye West.

She is wise beyond her years when it comes to lyricism too, she has an elevated view of the music industry and often condemns the glorification of materialism and misogyny in popular R & B and pop music. She is a firm believer that artists should rely on the credibility of their music and be rewarded for these similarly to how they were in former decades. She released her second album 'Let's Do It Again' through Shanachie Records and the title is a homage to one of her noted influencers, The Staple Sisters. It was far more commercially successful in the States that the debut, peaking at #84 on the US albums chart and #11 on the R & B chart.

That year she received two prestigious award nominations, one from the NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Artist category and another from the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. With this elevated critical acclaim and notoriety, her third album 'My Soul' sold even better than its predecessor. It peaked at #37 on the US charts and broke the top 10 on the R & B chart. After this Leela decided to release a cover album in tribute to one of her favourite artists, Etta James, and critics praised the beautiful re-imagination of the iconic singer's most popular hits.