From Over The Rainbow to Lady Marmalade!

Formed in Philadelphia in 1962 under the name The Bluebelles, Patti Labelle and her bandmates Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash soon garnered a great reputation as a live act.

Early hit tunes included I Sold My Heart To The Junkman, Down The Aisle (The Wedding Song), You’ll Never Walk Alone (Liverpool’s anthem), and Over The Rainbow.

In 1967, Cindy Birdsong left the group to join The Supremes, with whom LaBelle had been touring. This caused a rift between the band members who fell out as a result.

In 1971, the group changed their name to LaBelle and released their self-titled album. Notable tunes here are covers of Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones) and You’ve Got A Friend (Carole King).

The same year, they recorded Jimmy Mack with Laura Nyro as backing singers for her album Gonna Take A Miracle.

Their second album, Moonshadow (1972), did have the Cat Stevens tune on it, as well as Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who.

On their third album, Pressure Cookin’, we hear The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Gil Scott-Heron) and (Can I Speak to You Before You Go to) Hollywood, with lyrics describing how the band members felt about Cindy leaving them for Diana Ross.

The producers credited for Pressure Cookin’ are Vicky Wickham and a “friend,” the “friend” being none other than Stevie Wonder, who also wrote Open Up Your Heart, another track featured on the album.

Inspiration must have struck following working with Stevie, as their next album, Nightbirds, included LaBelle’s signature song, Lady Marmalade.

Lady Marmalade sold 1 million copies in the U.S. and has remained a contender for the working band’s setlist for five decades since.

Covered by Sabrina, All Saints, and most famously featured in Moulin Rouge (Christina Aguilera), it would become the tune that defined LaBelle.

LaBelle tunes | Related pages

Jimmy Mack

| Ebm | Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Gb |
Jimmy Mack, Jimmy. Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you comin’ back.
| Ebm7 | Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Gb Ab |
Jimmy Mack, Jimmy. Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you comin’ back.

Jimmy Mack chords

Lady Marmalade

| Gm7 | C9 | Gm7 | C9 | Gm7 | C9 |
Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister.
| Gm7 | C9 N.C |
Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister.

Lady Marmalade chords

Over The Rainbow

| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow,
| Cadd9 | Cm6 | Gmaj9 | G9 Amadd4 G/B |
way up high,

Over The Rainbow chords

Labelle on the web

• PattiLaBelle.com
• Discogs
• Facebook
• Wiki
• YouTube

The post LaBelle tunes first appeared on Spy Tunes.

The post LaBelle tunes appeared first on Spy Tunes.