Patti LaBelle has many awards and attributes that credit her as a true legendary singer in the world of music.
Her 50-year career as a singer has spanned music with more than 50 million record sales and she has been a prominent actress in theatrical and film productions in which she has appeared. She is a published author with her autobiography “Don’t Block The Blessings” and several cookbooks.
As a child, when she was 10 years old, she joined the church choir and at 12 she sang her first solo at Beulah Baptist Church. It was during these early years that people noticed that she had the gift of the singer,
The different groups he was a part of from the beginning were the Ordettes in 59 which became The Blubelles in 61 and LaBelle in 1970.
LaBelle’s 1974 album Night birds caught in. The first single from the album was “Lady Marmalade”, a disco song and it became her first number one hit in 12 years. In 1976 Labelle dissolved as a group.
Patti then became a solo artist in 1977 and her career began to accelerate in the 1980s. In 1982 she recorded a ballad titled “The Best Is Yet to Come”, which ranked 14th on the R&B chart and earned her a Grammy nomination. In 1983 he released another hit with “I’m In Love Again”. In 1984 he had his first number one R&B hit “If Only You Knew.”
Some of Patti’s songs that I really like are “On My Own”, a song that she sang with Michael McDonald and had a number one hit with her. Other hits from the 80s that I really liked were “Stir It Up”, “If You Asked Me To”, “Flame” and “When You’ve Been Blessed”.
In 1991 he received his first Grammy Award for his album “Burnin” and in 1998 his second Grammy for his album. Live! Just one night. Among Patti’s numerous awards she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Apollo Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone includes her in their list of the 100 best singers.
Beyond all this, there are things that speak of his character and that are as important as all his awards.
In 1969, Patti married Armstead Edwards. In 1973, they both wanted a child of their own and decided that while juggling their career and parenting could be a big task, it was worth it. They knew that the child would receive a lot of love from them since it was their sincere wish to have it. In July 1973 his first and only son, little Zuri Edwards, came into the world.
There were other acts of kindness from Patti and Armstead that showed their character when something needed it. In the late 1970s they adopted two teenagers who were living next door when the children lost their mother who died of cancer.
In 1989, Patti’s younger sister, Jackie Padgett, died of lung cancer. After her death, Patti and Armstead raised Jackie’s teenage children. Patti dedicated her 1991 album “Burnin” to her sister and filmed a video for “If You Asked Me To” the day after the funeral.
And now, we’ve seen both sides of Patti’s story. Personally, I can truly say that it is a shame that there is no award for good character except talking about it in the written word.
My most fervent hope is that you come out happier reading about the good works and incredible career of this legendary singer.