Patti LaBelle Had No Idea 'Lady Marmalade' Lyrics Were So Suggestive When She Recorded It (Exclusive)
etonline.comPatti LaBelle is a living legend, and she knows it, honey! The Godmother of Soul is looking back at her illustrious career with ET and reflecting on her time with the Bluebelles, making the classic tune «Lady Marmalade,» pivoting to cooking and more.
Recalling her time with the Bluebelles — previously known as the Blue Belles and later called LaBelle — the 77-year-old touched on how the group was groundbreaking during their musical reign. «It was important to represent ourselves as Black, intelligent women, not just a Black singing group with no thoughts,» she says. «Like 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' and sexual songs that my son was afraid of me doing — we talked about what was real in life and we weren't afraid.»The goal of it all was to grab viewers' attention, LaBelle reveals, and make them «pay attention.»«The costumes and the hair was to get your attention.
And once we got your attention, people realized 'Oh, they're saying something,'» she explains. «So everything was a gimmick because, as Black women, we got to do something to make people look and listen.
We were three crazy looking outrageous women… I feel so good that I was in that group, and that I'm still in it.»One of the group's most notable songs is their rendition of Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan's «Lady Maramalade,» a song so renowned for its sexual meaning that no one could misunderstand the sultry lyrics.
Read more on etonline.com
