Patti Labelle has charted her own incredible course in music superstardom. The world first came to know her famous “swell” in the sexy lady of the night song “Lady Marmalade,” delivered while dressed in feather boas or space-age, shiny silver. Her duets with Michael McDonald and Michael Bolton have soared in adult contemporary categories, and the songstress delights in gospel glory, going back to her roots. Why would the true lady, applauded by millions for her voice across 52 years, have any hesitation about singing jazz? Patti LaBelle stopped by “CBS This Morning” today, and talked about why it took two years to create her first jazz album, “Bel Hommage,” and why pots and pans are packed with essential needs for the road.
Good advice
“My voice was not so great,” Patti LaBelle describes of just a couple of years back. She felt that her trademark big endings to songs were lacking. It took some prodding from ex-husband, Armstead Edwards, to ply Patti to even the thought of doing a jazz album, but it helped that Edwards knew what he was talking about. Besides being married for 32 years, and sharing three children, Edwards managed Patti LaBelle, and was part of crucial career decisions along the way. Patti verifies that she and Edwards remain “buddies,” still living around the corner from one another. Gradually, thoughts of “not me” for the project were placated, and Patti LaBelle began to let the songs tell a story, as she always does, in only the way her voice and heart can express.
She describes the tone as “subdued,” and that mood still much Patti shine through every free-flowing track.
There's a reason for the “Hommage” of the title, besides covering some greats of the jazz genre. The "Godmother of Soul" pays tribute to her “good, good friend,” Nina Simone, in three tracks, and recalls lessons that her lush-voiced gal pal taught her.
When her wine was served to Patti from a plastic cup backstage at Carnegie Hall, Simone told her friend to refuse. “No darling, have them bring you crystal.” Now, Patti LaBelle enjoys her occasional glass of wine from a single crystal goblet. Patti LaBelle honors James Moody with “Moody's Mood,” a journey all its own.
She can cook
The most personal song on the collection is “I Can Cook Too.” The song serves up delicious high notes while simultaneously allowing Patti LaBelle to put herself up against the most delectable treats on a plate. Patti knows her way around the kitchen, and her pie sales from Walmart alone prove it.
Patti LaBelle’s latest cookbook is devoted to desserts, and when she's traveling, she still prefers cooking for herself to hotel room service “kibbles and bits.” She recalled a time when Arsenio Hall was her guest, and hotel security not only noticed the enticing smell floating from her room but brought their own plates, too. She made a date with Charlie Rose for a dinner of her fabulous fried chicken.
Back in the day, that dinner alone was worth a diamond ring from Sir Elton John, who kept the leftovers in her Tupperware, and never brought the container back.
“Bel Hommage” has Patti LaBelle sounding decidedly different, but she still makes every note delicious.
