Patti La Belle & The Bluebelles

Posted December 13, 201212 yr

Patti La Belle always liked Brits & this showed throughout her career.

Patti & the Bluebelles toured the UK in the mid 60's. On their gigs they were backed up by Bluesology who featured Elton John among their number. Patti & Elton struck up a close friendship that lasted for many years (when he was due to play his 1st big Philly solo concert in the 70's, he rang her to invite her along to the show. Not realising her old mate Dwight had evolved into Elton John, she asked him who he was playing piano for on the show).

The Bluebelles were much feted in the UK in 1966, their record label staging a reception for them that the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Tony Hall attended. The group obviously met Vicki Wickham (of RSG) at the time as she was to become their manager by 1970.

It was Vicki Wickham that convinced the remaining trio (Cindy Birdsong having left to join the Supremes) to change their image at the very end of the 60's, the 'new' outfit being renamed LaBelle. Vicki arranged for the group to sign a record deal with Track Records' Kit Lambert & Chris Stamp. The group were due to have a release in 1970 on Track's then proposed new label Fly (was this the label that went on to release stuff by the likes of Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, etc. The labels obviously had links coz after Track issued their Backtrack series of LP's, Fly put out some LP's badged up as Flyback).

Anyway, a release on Track at that time didn't materialise; the group cut an album at Record Plant in New York with Kit Lambert & Vicki Wickham acting as producers and this LP was released on Warner Bros in 1971 (WS 1943).

However, they had cut at least one earlier track for Lambert, Stamp & Track Records. This was their version of the old song "Miss Otis Regrets". This cut was recorded in London in 1970 with a full orchestra when the group first got together with Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.

The cut eventually escaped in the UK as a Track 45 in 1976 (# 2094 131) and became so well respected in music circles that it was recently included as a 'bonus cut' on a CD of new material released on LaBelle.

Anyone got the Track 45; if so can they post up a label scan ??

Edited December 13, 201212 yr by Roburt

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December 13, 201212 yr

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Patti La Belle & the Bluebelles had a 45 out on Atlantic in 1965; “All Or Nothing” (written by Pam Sawyer & Lori Burton). The cut was picked (& played over & over) as a 'climber' by pirate station Radio London DJ's back in November 1965. It was most probably the reception / airplay that this 45 enjoyed that got the group invited to tour the UK in 1966. Vicki Wickham got to see them perform in a small club in Kensington, London and was blown away by their renditions of classic ballads like “Over the Rainbow” and “Danny Boy”, she had never heard music like this before and the group's performance really touched her. Vicki had worked as a secretary at Rediffusion TV and after asking to be involved with Ready, Steady, Go she quickly became the heart of the show with her music choices and ideas. She wanted RSG to be in tune with the music, fashion and lifestyle of the mod generation. It launched the careers of the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, Dusty Springfield, Donovan and Cream. It was groundbreaking in the way it introduced the UK to soul singers like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown and Wilson Pickett. Many of the artists were appearing on national television for the 1^st time. Vicki also produced The Sound of Motown TV Special, hosted by Dusty Springfield (the Supremes, ‘little’ Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha & The Vandellas, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles). During the run of the show, Vicki had become great mates with Dusty Springfield and it was Dusty who introduced Vicki to the sounds of American R’n’B music. They would spend every Saturday at Dave Godin’s Soul City record shop, near Cambridge Circus, buying up all the new releases on Motown, Scepter, Stax and Atlantic (45's by Big Maybelle, Bessie Banks, Etta James, Sugar Pie DeSanto & Lorraine Ellison. Vicki says that hearing this music had a great influence on the artists she chose to appear on RSG. Dionne Warwick, PP Arnold & Madeline Bell all made their first television appearances in the UK on RSG. After RSG finished, Vicki became MD for UK record label Toast. She also produced the Sunday night concerts for Brian Epstein at the Saville Theatre, London (artists including the Four Tops, Jimi Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, Fats Domino,Garnett Mimms plus Gladys Knight & The Pips). At the end of the 60s she worked for a short time for EMI before moving to New York to run the New York office of Track Records.

Wickham said of those times: "When Patti first asked me to manage them I was reluctant. The name Patti LaBelle and the BlueBelles sounded so old. I told her that if we're going to do this, it's a new day. You've been together sixteen years, you are so out of it that you can't even get arrested. You can't wear those nice little frilly frocks and wigs, we've got to rethink it. You've got to make a statement, you're women, there's a lot to be said.'" Wickham threw out the group's old name and recrafted "the girl group" into LaBelle, a provocative trio, wearing space age, daring clothes and tackling adult subjects such as prostitution, which had been off-limits to pop music before that.

Edited December 13, 201212 yr by Roburt