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..."
Black Holes In The Sky
Labelle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm told, a shining star died inside
Behold, black holes in the sky
I'm told, a shining star turned itself inside
Black holes in the sky
May disappear and not be recognized
You'd better keep your eyes to the wind
And never be heard again
And stars fall from the sky all the time
They're only quasars
Dying stars much too far to see
They're only quasars
Dying stars much like you and me
Behold, black holes in the sky
I'm told, a shining star lives inside
Behold, black holes in the sky
I'm told, a shining star lives inside
Listen to me, won't you listen to me, please
Even if I'm sounding strange
And my rhetoric is uneased
There's so much more than I can tell
And what I've said is but a drop in the well
Because nobody knows what's up in the sky
They're only quasars
Dying stars much too far to see
They're only quasars
Dying stars just like you and me
The song "Black Holes In The Sky" by Labelle is a beautiful and poetic ode to the inherent mystery and infinite possibilities that exist in the cosmos. The song speaks to the idea that even though we may think we know everything about what lies beyond our planet, we really only understand a small fraction of what's out there. The lyrics speak to the awe-inspiring beauty of black holes and the way in which they suck in everything around them, including light. The notion of a "shining star dying inside" alludes to the way in which even the brightest stars can disappear into nothingness in the vastness of space.
The song also touches on the idea of truth and the notion that sometimes what we think we know may not actually be accurate. The line "May disappear and not be recognized" suggests that some things in the sky go unnoticed or even unrecognized. In the same vein, the lyrics talk about how stars fall all the time, but because they are too far away to see clearly, they are often represented as "quasars," or dying stars.
Overall, "Black Holes In The Sky" is a thoughtful commentary on the beauty and complexity of the universe, and a reminder that there is so much left to discover and understand.
Line by Line Meaning
Behold, black holes in the sky
Observe, there are voids in the atmosphere
I'm told, a shining star died inside
I've heard that a luminescent celestial entity perished internally
May disappear and not be recognized
These anomalies could vanish without being acknowledged
You'd better keep your eyes to the wind
Stay alert and attentive, be wary of the surroundings
Because the truth might sound
The veracity of the situation may seem unbelievable
And never be heard again
It may never be spoken of again
And stars fall from the sky all the time
Astronomical bodies plummet to the ground frequently
They're only quasars
These are merely quasars
Dying stars much too far to see
Stellar entities that are perishing from a distance
They're only quasars
These are merely quasars
Dying stars much like you and me
Stars that are perishing similarly to human beings
I'm told, a shining star lives inside
I've heard that a luminous celestial entity resides within
Listen to me, won't you listen to me, please
Pay attention to me, I implore you
Even if I'm sounding strange
Despite the fact that I may seem odd
And my rhetoric is uneased
And my speech is nervous
There's so much more than I can tell
There's a great deal I cannot disclose
And what I've said is but a drop in the well
Everything I've revealed thus far is merely a small portion
Because nobody knows what's up in the sky
Because no one is certain what exists in the heavens
Writer(s): nona hendryx
Contributed by Gabriella V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jonathan Scott
Even if we didn't know what quasars were in 1975, Nona Hendrix did. I wore this one out on my cassette player.
kay Middleton
Me too
Eumelanin I Am
Reading the lyrics and know the knowledge behind it is $sssooo powerful!!! I got the message It's straight 🔥 Nona 10:4 💘
Roy Sanders
Nona was a dynamite songwriter as well as a singer, so was Patti and Sarah.
jamesmiller16
I have always loved this song too!!! I found this definition of a quasar on Google. Song title "Black Holes in the Sky" makes sense... "Quasars are believed to be powered by the accretion of material into centralized supermassive black holes." Cool, huh?
wlsn11359
Nona Hendrix was ahead of her time for sure.
erikthevikingful
Patti can sing anything!
Roy Sanders
Labelle released six albums between 1971 and 1976 on Warner Brothers, RCA and Epic Records. They were Labelle (1971), Moonshadow (1972), Pressure Cookin’ (1973), Nightbirds (1974), Phoenix (1975) and Chameleon (1976).
wlsn11359
@S0NNETS Nona Hendrix...the grand poetess!
Brian Summers
Much like you and me. They singing about hope and not giving up oneself.