R&B female trio Labelle has reunited for a forthcoming album on Verve Records and an eventual tour with dates to be released in the near future.
Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash will deliver their first full-length studio album in more than 33 years. To be completed in June and on course for a global unveiling in the fall, it is being produced by a triumvirate of icons equally up to the task. Cutting edge funk rocker Lenny Kravitz and longtime Labelle collaborators and 2008 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, Gamble & Huff, have all helped the ladies recapture their sound.
Transforming themselves from the classic-style 1960s girl group The Bluebelles, the innovative trio deftly combined glam rock, soul, funk, pop and gospel into a brash amalgam of breakthrough recordings such as “I Believe I’ve Finally Made It Home” and the groundbreaking “Lady Marmalade.” Labelle redefined the creative arc of the girl group, celebrating their three distinct personalities by donning outrageous costumes and addressing controversial issues in song and demeanor, shunning the cookie-cutter stereotypes that plagued most female singers of the era. The group continually pushed gender boundaries in music of black origin, opening up for rock icons such as The Who and the Rolling Stones as they revolutionized the roles women played in R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, and even fashion.
“The thread that always runs through is that we’re sisters, and we’ll always be sisters,” declared LaBelle in a statement.
“The timing for us getting together was perfect,” added Hendryx. “About a year and a half ago we met in the studio to record a tribute to civil rights icon Rosa Parks (the song ‘Dear Rosa’ has yet to be released) and we just felt in our bones it was time to do this.”
