Welcome to a Breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. A breath of fresh air.
Beautiful day. Oh, baby, any day that you’re gone away. It’s a beautiful day.
Hi, and welcome to the show. I know many of you get what a breath of fresh air is all about. But for those of you who may have just tuned in, let me explain.
The show is an hour every week where you can kick back, relax, and get in behind some of your favourite musicians and song makers from the 60s, 70s and 80s. You know, the artists that really provided us with the soundtrack to our lives, and in many cases still do. I love to chat with them all, to hear how they got started, how they managed to climb the ladder of success, and to check in with them today to see what they’re doing, what they’ve learned along the way, and what advice they have to offer to the young as they, who are now in their 70s and 80s, reflect a little on their own lives.
I know I often mention it, but if there’s someone special from that era that you’d like me to try to interview, just send me a message through the website, abreathoffreshair.com.au, and I’ll do my very best to honour your request. Now on to this week’s special guest, whom I’m very excited to introduce you to. She’s an R&B legend who’s enjoyed one of the longest careers in contemporary music.
Known professionally as Patti LaBelle, and often referred to as the godmother of soul, Patti’s been active since the early 60s with the group The Bluebells that evolved into 70s funk trailblazers LaBelle. She’s notched up hits in a variety of sounds, including girl group pop, gutsy soul, space age funk, hard-hitting disco, lush, quiet storm, and high-tech pop. The New York Times actually referred to LaBelle as one of three of America’s most beloved divas, alongside Dolly Parton and Barbara Streisand.
But just in case you’ve been living under a rock, let me remind you of her most famous release. Born Patricia Holt in Philadelphia in 1944, Patti grew up singing in a local Baptist choir, and in 1960 teamed with friend Cindy Birdsong to form a group called The Audettes. It was then that she was first discovered as a very young girl, and her life changed forever.
I’ll let Patti pick up the story from here. Well, it meant a lot to me because I was a very shy lady, girl, baby. I was just shy.
And so my mother made me join the choir, and as I started singing with the choir, I wanted to always sing with the chorus background, no lead. And Mr Chapman, the choir director, said, you have to sing lead. And so I ended up singing lead and got a hallelujah and a standing ovation from the church.
And since then I’ve not been that shy, so I go out there and sing. Did you really not believe in yourself or the power of your voice at that time? At that time I didn’t believe in myself. Yeah, I was very shy.
I had no friends. I was just a boring girl. So your success is all down to your mother.
It is because she made me join that choir. In 65, you had become already a quartet known as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells. But until that time you were known as the Bluebells.
There was no Patti LaBelle because, of course, that’s not your real name. It’s true. And it became Patti LaBelle when the group broke up and then I was on my own.
During your career you weren’t actually writing the songs. It wasn’t the time yet when singers were writing their own songs. Did you have a say in what you recorded? Of course.
If it was not age appropriate, which I am 81 now, I can’t do a Megan Thee Stallion song. It has to make sense for me to sing certain songs. And we did write You Are My Friend.
I think that’s about one of the songs that I did write. I’m not a songwriter. I’m a song singer.
And you never wanted to translate into being a songwriter? Never, no. It happened. The few times that my name is on as a writer, it happened.
But it was nothing that I was searching to do, writing a great song. I just never did. But You Are My Friend, I think that’s a great song.
How did it feel like taking on this new name? What was that like for you? I felt great. Actually, it was the Ordettes first. They were the first group.
And then Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells and then LaBelle and then Patti LaBelle. And you started having hits as early as about 1962. I can’t imagine how that would feel for you, thrown into having top ten hits all of a sudden.
What difference did that then make to your life? Well, it made sense to my life with more sense, you know, more dollars. So the much as we changed, the more money we made, you know, which I really didn’t know much about the money. I was just after the fame.
And that made me happy to know that we had fans. But when we did start to get money, it was real cute, you know, but I would have done it for nothing. I still would.
With producer Bobby Martin at the helm, the Bluebirds scored a top 20 pop and R&B hit in 1962 with the single I Sold My Heart to the Junkman and subsequently hit the charts in 64 with renditions of Danny Boy and You’ll Never Walk Alone. The quartet then became known as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells and was signed in 65 to Atlantic Records, where they earned a minor hit with their version of the standard Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Where were the rewards for you at the time? What is it about being famous that you relish so much? Well, I really am blessed to have an audience without hit records.
I haven’t had a recording of an R&B album. I haven’t recorded one in 20 years, which I’m working on now. But to see the audiences and sold-out audiences with Patti LaBelle having no hit record, that’s a godsend.
That’s a blessing. And I never take that for granted, you know, but people, they come to see me no matter what. In 1970, Patti’s group signed on with Vicki Wickham, the producer of the UK music show Ready Steady Go.
Vicki had agreed to manage the group after Dusty Springfield mentioned signing them. Her first direction was to change their name to simply LaBelle and renew their act, going for a more homegrown look and sound that reflected a funkier, rock-oriented, progressive soul. In 71, in the wake of their self-titled debut, LaBelle opened for The Who as part of the group’s tour around the US.
The trio also collaborated with Laura Nairo on the R&B-influenced album Gonna Take a Miracle. A year later, in 72, the group released Moon Shadow, which repeated the progressive sound of the previous album. In 73, influenced by glam rockers David Bowie and Elton John, Vicki Wickham had the group dressed in silver spacesuits and luminescent make-up.
After their third successive album failed to generate a hit, LaBelle signed with Epic Records and released their most successful album to date with Nightbirds, which blended soul, funk, glam and rock music thanks to the work of the album’s producer, Alan Tussaint. The proto-disco single Lady Marmalade would become their biggest-selling single, going number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over a million copies, as did Nightbirds, which later earned a gold award and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In October of that year, LaBelle made pop history by becoming the first rock and roll vocal group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House.
It was 1974 when that fabulous hit Lady Marmalade hit the airwaves. Yeah. More than 50 years ago, Patti.
It’s unbelievable how quickly time has gone, isn’t it? Yeah. Has it gone just as fast for you? Yes, it has. Fast, very fast.
And to know that I’m still doing it at 81, I feel so proud that I can still do what I do. So what did you think of that song when you first heard it? I thought it was a hit, so when we went to Alan Tussaint in New Orleans, I said, let’s record this one first, not knowing what it meant. It’s just that whole bridge and the way it sounded.
I said, it sounds like a hit. So we did it and it became a hit. And then we got some backlash from the nuns saying these girls are singing about hookers.
Well, hookers have to make a living too. So, but we didn’t know what we were singing at the time. We just sang it.
Yes. Well, the controversy around Lady Marmalade stemmed from the song’s subject matter, which was about a prostitute and faced censorship due to its provocative lyrics. It was controversial for its explicit themes and the song’s most provocative line, Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir, which translates to do you want to sleep with me tonight, caused an absolute stir.
The lyrics led to public debate and accusations of glamorising prostitution. As a result, some TV networks censored the song or refused to play it. Originally written by Bob Crew and Kenny Nolan in the same year, the song was recorded by the group The Eleventh Hour, but only became a hit after New Orleans musician, songwriter and producer Alan Tussaint arranged it for LaBelle.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. Was it like working with the great Alan Tussaint? Oh, it was like heaven.
And we worked with him quite a few times. He was just the most quiet person, laid back. But when he pulled out his thing, you knew that he was a genius.
Just a genius, and he was wonderful. He was responsible for several of your hits, wasn’t he? For Lady Marmalade and, gosh, Don’t Make Your Angel Cry. Don’t make your angel cry Don’t make your angel cry Come on and treat me right Cut out those little white lies Don’t make your angel cry Don’t break your angel’s heart Keeping us up at night Don’t let her pass her by Come between you and I Don’t make your angel cry After two more full-length albums, 1975’s Phoenix and the following year’s Chameleon, LaBelle disbanded and their namesake mounted a solo career where she released a studio album each year from 1977 through to 1980.
During this period, LaBelle continued to work with various producers, including Alan Tussaint. All the while, she stuck to straightforward and sophisticated R&B that had lots of dancefloor appeal. Nine A-sides from this phase charted, including the top 40 R&B singles Joy to Have Your Love, Eyes in the Back of My Head, Little Girls, Music is My Way of Life, Come What May and I Don’t Go Shopping, which was a song co-written by Peter Allen, being the most successful.
I don’t go shopping You’re something money can’t buy I dream in colours and my dreams Are only shades of blue So I’m never blue I don’t go wishing on the sky Just want to be where you are Too many times it felt so right But it was just the night Now I see the light I don’t care nothing about what’s going on It’s all about you When did Patti LaBelle become Patti LaBelle solo and why? Because the group, we broke up. There was no animosity between us. It’s not like I became a Diana Ross and just wanted to be on my own.
We didn’t want to sing the same things any longer. So we all went our separate ways. You know, Nonan’s very successful.
Sarah Dash, God rest her soul. She was very successful and I did my solo thing. But before I could go on stage as a solo performer, I had to see a shrink because I was petrified to go on stage by myself.
Is that right? You went back to being that shy little girl again. Right. I mean, very, very scared.
Not knowing that people would blame me for the breakup, which actually they did not blame me for. I was very happy to know that they didn’t blame me. They knew that all three of us had different talents.
And that’s how it was. When you said that you all wanted to sing different things, what were your desires? What did you want to sing? I was a ballad queen. I’m still a ballad queen.
Nonan’s rock and roll. Sarah was in between like disco and whatever she wanted to sing. It’s just that we had totally different thoughts of songs that we should release as singles.
So we split, but we’re still together. Nonan and I are doing a rock opera, a play. We’re still together.
And we’re just never going to be apart. Never. You really are sisters in a lot of ways.
Every way. Yes, we are. I’m amazed at how softly spoken you are compared to that huge voice that you have.
The contradiction is incredible. Yeah. It’s like when I’m talking to you, I’m very shy.
Once I get that microphone and see the lights and see the audience, I turn into a beast. I go like crazy girl. Yeah, I’m a very shy person.
So there’s really two different sides of you. Yes. Yes, my friend.
Two different sides, yes. How do you explain that? And was it a shock to you when you first discovered that? Well, it was a shock because I never knew she was in here. And when she came out, I said, well, let her have her moment.
And on stage, I always have my moment. And after the show, I’m laid back. I go and I play cards with my friends and chill and cook for the band or whatever.
But I’m a very shy individual. I must have rehearsed my lines A thousand times Until I had them memorized But when I get the nerve To tell you the words Just never seem to come out right If only you knew How much I do Do love you If only you knew How much I do Do need you I dream of moments we share But you’re not there I’m living in a fantasy Has there ever been a time when you’ve been on stage, the shy girl has come out again? Never. Never on stage.
Always off. And do you suffer the nerves before you go on stage as you make that transition? I don’t. We have prayer.
I’m very laid back and calm at the prayer. And when I go on stage and see the audience doing what they do, which is so pleasant to me, that’s when I turn up and turn out. So that’s really your reward is the audience reaction, yeah? Yes.
To see audience members sitting out there not really knowing who Patti LaBelle is until maybe the middle of the show and they start clapping differently and smiling or crying, so then I know that what I’m doing is touching to some people. Yeah. Right.
Patti, did you have to change your style with the different decades? Because, of course, as the 70s came to an end and the 80s came in and it was all disco, did you have to alter what you were giving audiences in order to keep up with the times? Never did I change. If I had to change, that wouldn’t be a real Patti LaBelle. I followed my heart and I did what I wanted to do.
I did the ballads and, you know, just songs that I wanted to sing. I never thought that there was any reason for me to change the way I was performing. MUSIC You’ve had the most incredible career.
You’ve sold more than 50 million records. You’ve been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. You’ve got the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.
Even Rolling Stone included you on their list of 100 Greatest Singers. You must pinch yourself sometimes, do you? No. I don’t pinch myself, Sandy.
I just know that what I’m doing is from my heart and there’s no pretense, no pretense. So I never would change my style for a hit. Never.
Ballads were always your first love. Yes. Still my first love, yeah, ballads.
Why? I like a funky, up-tempo song, like California Love is one of my favourite songs by Tupac. So I have things like that in the show also with my ballads. Yeah.
Tell us a little bit about what we’re going to see, what your show consists of. It’s going to consist of rock, ballads, gospel, so many different ways of my singing. Certain things might come from the audience, they might shout something out, and then I’ll do it.
So my shows are not really planned. I’m a Gemini, May 24th, 1944, and I have 18 different things going on when I’m on stage. I get Gemini’s.
Totally. You can go and do anything at any time. You never know, right? Did your mum live long enough to see your success? Yes, she did, my mother and my father.
Actually, I took my father’s singing ability from him to me. He was a singer. My mother loved the fact that she saw me sing at the World Series.
My mother loved the Phillies, right? And so when she heard that I was performing, she said, no, you’re not sugar. I said, yes, I am, Mum, yes, I am. And she saw me perform, she lost her mind.
It was the best thing for her. Yes, so my mother and father loved my way of singing. Your success, that’s right.
I’m sure it gave them a huge amount of pleasure, and again, another massive reward for you to make them so happy. You’ve done duets with a lot of people. Can you think of maybe one of your favourites that you worked with? Of course, Michael McDonald, On My Own.
What was it like working with him? I didn’t. We didn’t work together, we didn’t do our video together. We did everything separate.
On My Own was a song that I wanted to throw away. I did not like it as a solo performer. So Carole Bear, Sarah and Burt Bacharach, right? They wrote the song, and so when the producer said to them that Patti does not want to do the song any longer, she just, I didn’t feel it.
And so Burt came to me and said, Patti, would you like to do it with another singer? I said, oh, that would be wonderful. He said, who do you have in mind? So I said, Michael McDonald. And oh, God, he said yes to the dress, and we did the song.
I did mine, and we did the video in different places. We didn’t sing it together. So I did my video in Brooklyn, he did his in Malibu, and the first time we met was on Johnny Carson’s show.
And gosh, that was a wonderful meeting. I love him. Well, it turned out to be a pretty sensational song too, and I think I agree with you, strengthened by the fact that you had both voices on there.
Yes, it was wonderful. And we’ve done some shows together since then. Promises never should be spoken Now I know what loving you costs Now we’re up here talking divorce Once again One more time I’m by myself 1986 was a big year for Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, but also for Carole Bayer-Sager and Bert Bacharach, who had scored another number one hit earlier in the year with That’s What Friends Are For.
Movie star Elizabeth Taylor, who was friends with both Carole and Patti, visited the recording studio when LaBelle was laying down her vocals. Elizabeth was a huge fan of the song and even called into radio stations several times to request it. But the song didn’t need her support.
Both the LP and the single topped the pop and R&B charts that year. Two more Grammy nominations ensued, this time for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for On My Own and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song There’s a Winner in You.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. I love Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I love You Are My Friend.
I like, like I said, I just like so many of my songs. Is there one that speaks to you more than any other? There’s a Winner in You also, that’s one. There’s a Winner in You is one of Patti LaBelle’s favourite songs.
Also released in 1986, it was written and produced by renowned American husband and wife songwriting, production and recording duo Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who were famous for penning a multitude of classic R&B and pop hits for Motown and other artists, before launching a successful performing career of their own. It’s only me, it’s only me I’ve come to see you And I know what you’ve been through I will be your friend Lean on me for now I’ve got to pull you back up somehow And I have no more of this walking around I’m tired of you pulling yourself down Cause in spite of all you’ve been through I still believe in you There’s a Winner in You Patti LaBelle has worked with so many artists throughout her career, including Michael Bolton, the Oakland Boys and Keith Richards. She’s also collaborated with artists like Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men and Elton John.
It’s a little bit funny There’s a feeling inside I’m not one of those who can easily hide I don’t have much money But boy if I did How sweet we both could live It’s a sculpture but then I get no Or a woman who makes potions In a traveling show I know it’s not much But it’s the best I can do My gift is my song And this one’s for you And you can tell everybody This is your song It might be quite simple at once But now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind I hope you don’t mind That I put down in words How wonderful life is While you’re in the world With me Are there some still on your bucket list that you would like to work with that you haven’t as yet? Not really I’ve done a lot with a lot So I’m pretty content You said that you’re working on a new album now What’s prompted you to put out a new album after such a… It’s been 20 years since I’ve done an R&B album I’ve done gospel, jazz, a few other albums in between But not R&B So I’ve started working on this about a year ago So I’ll say by the end of next year you’ll get a Patti LaBelle R&B album Fabulous. Is R&B still your first love? Sure, it is my first love R&B And yet you keep coming back to your gospel roots, don’t you? Oh, I stay there. I’m a gospel queen I love gospel, yes Is it as popular today as it once was or is it fading with time? It’s never going to fade It’s always here We need gospel, especially now We need a whole lot of everything But gospel is my love I’ll never stop singing gospel You say that because of the relationship between gospel and prayer? Well, gospel and prayer, they’re together And I’m always praying for a better world right now We need it And I’m always in the Lord’s hands Always No matter what I do, if I do Tupac, I’ve still got Jesus on my side That belief has carried you through your life? Yes, it has If you had to look back over your life right now and pick maybe, say, two highlights that really stand out Are you able to do that? Yes My first highlight would be the birth of my son Zuri And the second was singing for Nelson Mandela years ago Beautiful, it was just wonderful In terms of Nelson Mandela, was he someone that you admired before you got to sing for him? Yes, yes, he was He was someone that everybody admired I mean, I wanted to be close to or just have a chance to say hello to him or shake his hand, yeah I was that girl And I was happy when I did it Did all of these opportunities just fall into your lap or did you have to try and make them happen? A lot of them fell into my life, into my lap And I can’t think of things that I begged to do that I was said no to Just going back to where I last saw you in 1982 with Al Green Do you have any relationship with that wonderful man anymore? Well, sure, we’re still buddies You know, I haven’t seen him in about 10 years or whatever but we’re still friends Because you and he worked together so fabulously that must have been a real trip for you too Well, as we did Arms to Short the Box with God and we’ve done other shows together so he’s been in my life a long time Do you still have that very special connection to Philadelphia? Of course, I’m here now Are you still in the States? I’ll always live in Philly, yeah What is it about Philly that you like so much? So boring, quiet, nothing much to do and I’m laid back and it’s perfect for me and my attitude I love Philly It’s not like New York or Vegas or any of the cities that are pumping and just moving over Philly is quiet And when you get around the city there are you mobbed by fans? Do you have to put on a hat and a coat to protect your ID? No, when I go out, Sandy I go out dressed up like this and when they say hello to me it makes me feel great and I never hide from my fans I say, come on, you want a photo? And they’re shocked because I’m that girl So I never hide So you’ve remained grateful all these years for the successes that you’ve had Yeah, very grateful I’m very grateful that people don’t dislike me You know, some people do, I know that but the way I feel about people loving me is so positive They’re always giving me real love Yeah, well you deserve it, Patti LaBelle And at 81 years of age, just finally and totally off the topic you have to share with us your secrets for looking and staying so youthful Surrounding myself with great people nobody negative can come into my space bad demons You know, I’m just always enjoying the company like before I talked to you my makeup and hair and my publicist we were playing cards, I won money You know, that makes me happy I beat them down I feel like crying when I finish but I just love my people who are around me, they’re all special And I guess then you try never to entertain negative thoughts Also, if you don’t surround yourself with negative people it’s about keeping the negativity right away from inside and outside you Yeah, negativity can hurt you It can You know, just let it go There are a whole lot of things that are negative in my life but I push them away They’re no longer here So would that be your advice to people watching and listening to this? Just let it go You know, smile at somebody who’s trying to destroy you because that gives them, like, why? She’s not angry? No You know, I’m going to make you feel bad in the end Patti LaBelle closed out the 80s with the song Yo Mister written and produced by Prince While she recorded a little less frequently during the 90s all three of her studio albums released during that decade went either gold or platinum and peaked in the R&B top ten while four of their singles placed similarly Burnin’ was the song that finally provided LaBelle with a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance I thought that I ought to My soul To kiss your lips But it started all over again Said if you could I’d like to try it all During this period Patti LaBelle also published her autobiography Don’t Block the Blessings Revelations of a Lifetime and released two live sets The latter one, 1998’s double length live One-Nine Only also won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance LaBelle’s also had success as an actress with a role in the Academy Award nominated film A Soldier’s Story and in TV shows like A Different World and American Horror Story Freak Show She starred in her own sitcom Out All Night In 2002 she hosted her own lifestyle show Living It Up with Patti LaBelle In 2015 she took part in the dance competition Dancing With The Stars and has given her names to brands of bedding, cookbooks and food So now I’m going to do my macaroni and cheese It’s called Over The Top Top Top Macaroni and Cheese What do you think you would have been doing if you hadn’t become a singer? A chef A chef? You like to cook? Love to cook I have my Patti LaBelle brand that you guys don’t have yet but you’re going to get it My pancakes, my sweet potato pie, my macaroni You’re going to get it over there soon Oh, how great! Her career has spanned seven decades and during that time she sold more than 50 million records worldwide She’s been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame the Hollywood Walk of Fame the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame and the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame Rolling Stone even included her on their list of 100 greatest singers What a superstar Thank you so much for your time today We cannot wait to see you down under Have you been here before? 30 years ago Oh, you’ll find it changed a little bit too even though you don’t seem to have changed any Not at all But I love your questions Thank you very much I can’t wait to see your show again and it’s fabulous to see you looking so young and healthy and glowing and just such a beautiful, peaceful energy When is your birthday? My birthday, I’m July 2, I’m a Cancer Oh, so are my best friends and my son, Cancer Love your son’s name, that’s a great name He’s not a great name, he’s a great person, thank God Is he in music too? He’s my manager Ah, that’s awesome to be able to work with him Fabulous Life is good, Patti LaBelle, huh? Oh, life is good, thank you so much Have a great day, all the best Bye-bye Bye now