LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Henry Holte, a railroad worker, and Bertha Robinson Holte, a housewife.[2] The third of four sisters (and the fourth of five, the Holtes also had one son), Holte began singing at church at an earlier age. Though Holte enjoyed a happy childhood, she would later recount in her autobiography that she was sexually molested as a child. When Holte was twelve, her parents split up. Holte attended John Bartram High School in Philadelphia. During an audition for a school play, a teacher advised Holte to form a singing group.
Holte, who was nicknamed "Patsy" by friends and family, formed her first girl group called the Ordettes in 1959. In 1960, when two of the original Ordettes left, Holte and fellow Ordette Sundray Tucker brought in singers Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, from a recently defunct rival group, the Del Capris. When Tucker's family made Sandra leave the group, she was replaced by hometown friend Cindy Birdsong. With her mother's blessings, Patti left high school to tour with the Ordettes. The group was managed by Bernard Montague and toured from local nightclubs to honky tonks and truck stops in the Philadelphia area.
During an audition with Newtown Records, the Ordettes almost didn't get a recording contract because Holte, who was the lead singer was considered "too plain, too dark and unattractive" until she sang for him. Afterwards, he suggested a name change for Holte. Add to the irony after his initial disappointment of Holt, the surname LaBelle was French for "the beautiful". Signing them in 1961, the boss also changed the name of the group to The Bluebelles, named initially after a Newtown subsidiary (Bluebelle Records), which later led to threats of a lawsuit over another girl group's manager. The name was altered to Patti LaBelle and Her Bluebelles in 1963 and changed slightly to Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles two years later.
[edit] Group career: 1962 - 1977
Main article: Labelle
The Bluebelles' first single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", was actually recorded by The Starlets and was released as a Bluebelles single due to contract obligations the Starlets had with their own label, Pam Records. Credited to Patti's group, the song peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. Going out on the road, the group became a successful draw on the chitlin' circuit, mainly earning national fame at The Apollo Theater where they became "Apollo Sweethearts". The group enjoyed a modestly successful recording career, which included top 40 recordings such as their gospel-styled doo-wop renditions of traditional songs such as "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Danny Boy". In 1963, their ballad "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)" became a top 40 hit. In 1965, after recording for Newtown and Cameo-Parkway, the group landed a stint at Atlantic Records gaining some modest success recording Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow", a song LaBelle would record as a soloist over a decade later and which later became a concert staple in LaBelle's shows since. The group also recorded the modest pop hit, "All or Nothing". The group also sang background for Wilson Pickett's hit "634-5789 (Soulsville U.S.A.)" while with Atlantic. In 1967, Cindy Birdsong shocked the group when she left to replace Florence Ballard of The Supremes. The abrupt exit caused friction between the group members and LaBelle wouldn't speak to Birdsong again for nearly 20 years.
During the late 1960s, the Bluebelles toured England where they had a local following. Elton John met LaBelle in the mid-1960s when he and his group Bluesology played background for the Bluebelles during their UK gigs. In 1970, the Bluebelles were dropped from Atlantic and also lost their manager Montague,who had signed Philadelphia's "Delfonics". The group almost signed with DJ promoters Frankie Crocker and Herb Hamlett, but Hamlett left the industry for a law career, leaving the group to eventually hire Dusty Springfield's manager Vicki Wickham, she advised the group to revive their image and sound. Though LaBelle admitted having difficulty with the change, she eventually agreed after her two band mates, including Nona Hendryx, convinced her the move would bring popularity to the group. Returning to America the following year, they changed their name to Labelle and released their self-titled debut on Warner Bros. Records. The same year, they gained a cult following after opening for The Who and appearing as backup for Laura Nyro's accomplished album, Gonna Take a Miracle. After releasing two more transitional albums, including 1972's Moon Shadow and 1973's Pressure Cookin', which had the group recording more political affair including a famed remake of Gil Scott Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". In 1973, the group was asked to change their look again, after discovering the success of glam rockers David Bowie and T-Rex, to glammed-up wardrobe. In time, the group's trademark wear included pieces of silver (LaBelle herself began wearing silver-haired wigs and knee-high silver boots).
In September 1974, after two weeks in New Orleans, Labelle released their landmark album, Nightbirds, which successfully mixed glam rock and soul with funk elements. Their biggest hit, "Lady Marmalade", became their very first number-one hit, and the group went on a successful national tour that started with a rave performance at the Metropolitan Opera House,[3] where they became the first contemporary pop group to open there and the first African American group to perform there. The group advised fans to "wear something silver" during the famed event. In 1975, Labelle became the first black vocal group to land a cover on Rolling Stone. The group founded some commercial and critical success with the releases of rockier efforts such as Phoenix and Chameleon, famed for the feminist funk classic, "Get You Somebody New" and Patti's magnum opus, a cover of Randy Edelman's rock ballad, "Isn't It a Shame", though it didn't match up with the success of Nightbirds. After failing to come to terms with musical direction, the group agreed to split up in early 1977 for solo careers.
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Kenneth Edmonds was born on April 10, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana[1] to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a pharmaceutical plant manager. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (which also included future After 7 bandmembers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of whom later had a modestly successful solo career), attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and as a shy youth, wrote songs to express his emotions.[citation needed] When he was in eighth grade, Edmonds's father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise her sons alone. At this stage, Edmonds became determined to have a career in music.[1]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Edmonds later played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged him "Babyface" while he was still a teen. He also played in the groups Manchild (which had a 1977 hit "Especially for You" with band member Daryl Simmons), as he was a guitarist for the band. Then, as a keyboardist in the light-funk and R&B group The Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid, with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing partnership). One of his first major credits as a songwriter for outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow-Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight Star's double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album, and while it never hit the charts, the song is still played on quiet storm shows. Babyface remained in The Deele until 1988, when both he and Reid left the group.
[edit] Commercial success
In the late 1980s, he contributed to the creation of new jack swing, writing and producing music for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White, Pebbles, Paula Abdul and '80s icon Sheena Easton.
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. Two of the label's early artists TLC were successful, becoming one of the best selling female groups in music history, and Toni Braxton. Braxton's eponymous 1993 debut album went on to sell over eight million copies, and earned her the 1994 Grammy Award Best New Artist. TLC's first two albums on LaFace—1992's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and 1994's CrazySexyCool—combined to sell more than 15 million copies in the U.S. CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B album.
Babyface helped form the popular late-90s R&B group Az Yet.
Edmonds works with many successful performers in contemporary music. “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” produced for Whitney Houston, was his first #1 Top 40 hit in the US. He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love To You," both of which established records for the longest stay at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals on Madonna's 1995 7-week #1 hit "Take a Bow," and shared billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "Change the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack. He also wrote and produced the #1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Whitney Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Whitney Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.
Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists including Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Prince, Al Green, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Pebbles, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisqo, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy, Céline Dion, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams, En Vogue, Eric Clapton, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Japanese singer Ken Hirai, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, and Phil Collins among others. He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year in 1995–1997.
In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode Beverly Hills, 90210 titled Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2).
In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then wife Tracey Edmonds expanded into the business of motion pictures, setting up Edmonds Entertainment Group and producing films such as Soul Food (1997), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt, which included contributions from numerous artists, including Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. They are the current executive producers of the hit BET reality series College Hill. Edmonds also worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream," the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by superstar Céline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.
Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality show Celebrity Duets.
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce her album The Declaration.[2]
His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label.[3]
He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III, on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable." He also worked with R&B singer Monica for her upcoming album Still Standing.
[edit] Awards
On August 30, 2006, Babyface was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards.[4] Throughout his career, Babyface has won the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year trophy seven times and a total of 51 BMI Awards, which includes Song of the Year for his Toni Braxton hit, "Breathe Again," in 1994.[5]
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