Patti Labelle
Patti LaBelle was first known as Patricia Louise Holte. She was born on May 24, 1944. Patti LaBelle is an American R&B, soul singer and songwriter. She headed two groups: Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and Labelle. Patti LaBelle is perhaps best known for her passionate stage performances, and her wide vocal range and distinctive high-octave belting is outstanding.

Patti LaBelle was born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born to Henry Holte, who was a railroad worker. She is the fourth of five children, and she has three sisters and a brother

LaBelle started singing at the age of 14 in church. She was a shy girl, who had a voice of a torch diva. One of her school teacher"s advised her to start a singing group.

LaBelle founded a four-member girl group called the Ordettes in 1958. When Tucker's family made Sandra leave the group, she was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. With her mother's blessings, Patti left high school to tour with the Ordettes.

The group was managed by Bernard Montague, The group toured from local nightclubs to honky tonks and truck stops. The president at the time nearly passed on the group upon hearing the lead singer was Patti, or "Patsy" as friends and family called her, whom he had said didn't fit the traits of a traditionally beautiful lead singer. His mind was changed, however, when Patsy began singing.

The president signed them to the label under two conditions: The Ordettes were now the Bluebelles and Patricia "Patsy" Holte would be given a new name: Patti LaBelle.

For a woman that didn't have classic beauty traits by Eurocentric standards, the last name meant "beautiful" in French. The name was changed again to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles after the manager of the group who had the same name sought to sue.

In 1962, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles scored their first Top 40 pop hit with the release of the doo-wop single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman." That same year, they began wowing audiences at New York's Apollo theater later given them the name "The Apollo Sweethearts."

In 1965, the group signed to Atlantic Records and scored what later became Patti's signature song with their version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The next year, LaBelle, Dash & Hendryx received a shock when Cindy Birdsong left to join The Supremes, replacing Florence Ballard. After Cindy Birdsong left the group, Patti, Nona, Sarah found themselves in a holt. But the group continued to tour around the country. In 1970, Patti and the Bluebelles moved to England where they met Janis Joplin's former promoter, Vicki Wickham.

Wearing casual clothing and African adornments, Labelle often sung of racism, sexism and politics, but their sound was not liked by consumers. In 1971, the newly-changed group signed with Warner Bros Records and released their self titled album "Labelle". Their new sound showed elements of gospel, funk, disco, soul, and glam rock.

The album was a commercial failure but received rave reviews for its positive image. In 1972 Labelle released their second Warner Bros. album, "Moon Shadow", with groundbreaking songs like "I Believe That I've Finally Made It Home" and "It Ain't Sad Until It's All Over".

Subsequently the group was dropped from its label. With the help of manager Vicki Wickham, Labelle signed with RCA Records and soon began working on their album "Pressure Cookin". Half of the songs on the album were written by group member Nona Hendryx.

Labelle covered the political song, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", in her medley, "Something In The Air"; but Patti was quoted as stating that when the group was to appear on a television show, they were told not to perform the song.

"Pressure Cookin'" was released in 1973 and continued the pattern of earning great reviews without gaining commercial success. Critics especially praised the material that Nona Hendryx wrote.

In 1974, learning of a cult following, the women changed their looks again - now adorning space-like, "rockish" hair and uniforms. That December they released their greatest record, Nightbirds, featuring their breakout hit, "Lady Marmalade," which hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 1975, helping Nightbirds to go gold.

Patti began having artistic differences, especially with the songs that Nona Hendryx was writing. While they sold out concerts around the world, Labelle's record sales were decreasing. Nevertheless, the 1975 album, Phoenix, sold 1 million copies because of songs like "Black Holes In The Sky", "Messin' With My Mind", and "Action Time".

The entertainment industry has been responsible for churning out probably the most gifted and talented musicians to ever grace the masses with their incredible music. One such musician has got to be Patti LaBelle. A citizen of the United States, she was born on the 24th of May in the year 1944, and was the lead singer of her band which went by the name Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. The band, due to certain issues, was renamed to Labelle during the early 70s. During the course of her career, she also tried her hand writing and acting. One of her most famous singles was Lady Marmalade which, after a month of its release, became a record breaking hit and, as a result, peaked out at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It was also their first ever song to reach that mark and resulted in the millions of sales for the album in which the single was featured. Patti LaBelle has also won numerous awards and accolades recognizing her extraordinary talents. During the course of her career, she got nominated for a total of thirteen Grammy Awards, out of which she won two. She was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in the year 2003. Other awards she has won include the Lifetime Achievement Award that she won at the 2011 BET Awards. She also received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards. Buy your Patti LaBelle Tickets today and ensure that you are among the lucky few who will get the chance to see this icon perform live on stage. It is a chance that a true music fan can never afford to miss.