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Music Matters
Why Labelle Matters
Performing as the Bluebelles in the 1960s, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash wore bouffant wigs and chiffon dresses, and they harmonized vocals like many other girl groups of the era. After a decade on the Chitlin Circuit, however, they were ready to write their own material, change their name, and deliver--as Labelle--an electrifyingly celestial sound and styling that reached a crescendo with a legendary performance at the Metropolitan Opera House to celebrate the release of Nightbirds and its most well-known track, "Lady Marmalade." In Why Labelle Matters, Adele Bertei tells the story of the group that sang the opening aria of Afrofuturism and proclaimed a new theology of musical liberation for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people across the globe.
With sumptuous and galactic costumes, genre-bending lyrics, and stratospheric vocals, Labelle's out-of-this-world performances changed the course of pop music and made them the first Black group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. Why Labelle Matters, informed by interviews with members of the group as well as Bertei's own experience as a groundbreaking musician, is the first cultural assessment of this transformative act.
With sumptuous and galactic costumes, genre-bending lyrics, and stratospheric vocals, Labelle's out-of-this-world performances changed the course of pop music and made them the first Black group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. Why Labelle Matters, informed by interviews with members of the group as well as Bertei's own experience as a groundbreaking musician, is the first cultural assessment of this transformative act.
- GenresMusicBiographyNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
Published March 23, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 12, 2021
Given the scarcity of written material on Labelle - Patti's autobiography being the main source at the moment - I jumped on seeing this title, and was not disappointed.
Ms Bertei provides a enjoyable reading experience, which I managed to finish in a couple of evenings. In addition to following the career of the Labelle the group, she is careful to give equal weight to examining the input of each member of the group - so the talents of Nona and Sarah are detailed, not just those of the admittedly phenomenal Patti. In fact, the entire premise of her book is that one of their claims to historical fame lies in the way the three women stuck together and battled through the appalling prejudice of the time, both sexual and racial. She also provides several references to their links to AfroFuturism which I found novel and interesting.
Anyone who owns all their albums will appreciate the fact that pretty much each track is namechecked and summarised. Whenever I revisit an album, the quality of Nona's writing (the majority) and that of the few contributions from Patti or Sarah really impresses - and the question as to why the talents of Labelle and Nona in particular remain pretty much unrecognised by the music business hangs in the air. Ms Bertei provides some convincing explanations for this however.
As a University tome, I was a little apprehensive as usually the more academically 'learned' the work of this kind, the more unreadable the item is - well, to those not embedded within the milieu and language that is.
A few phrases pop-up - 'hetero-normative' being one - but overall this is the objective and well-researched and well-reasoned work of a long-time Labelle fan, which is probably why it is as enjoyable to read as it is. In fact, I ended up wishing that it had another hundred pages of detail and interviews. By the way, one slight disappointment is that there are no photographs - not sure why that is.
If you're new to Labelle - or had forgotten about them - then thanks to YouTube you can quickly see exactly why their fans may be few, but are so fervent. Type Labelle into the Search bar, skip over the videos featuring just Patti (as good as she is as a solo artist) and bear with the usually lousy video quality. Forget Lady Marmalade (again, as good as it is) and hunt down maybe 'Can I speak to you before you go to Hollywood?', 'What can I do for you?', 'Black holes in the sky' and maybe their Final Concert. I'd be surprised if your first thought was that they were dated, because - as Ms Bertei contends - they were probably at least 30 years ahead of their time.
So, thank you Adele Bertei - in sitting down to write this book, you've managed to please many fans and also hopefully generate a few more worldwide. The next thing we need is a worthy documentary, maybe on Netflix etc.
Ms Bertei provides a enjoyable reading experience, which I managed to finish in a couple of evenings. In addition to following the career of the Labelle the group, she is careful to give equal weight to examining the input of each member of the group - so the talents of Nona and Sarah are detailed, not just those of the admittedly phenomenal Patti. In fact, the entire premise of her book is that one of their claims to historical fame lies in the way the three women stuck together and battled through the appalling prejudice of the time, both sexual and racial. She also provides several references to their links to AfroFuturism which I found novel and interesting.
Anyone who owns all their albums will appreciate the fact that pretty much each track is namechecked and summarised. Whenever I revisit an album, the quality of Nona's writing (the majority) and that of the few contributions from Patti or Sarah really impresses - and the question as to why the talents of Labelle and Nona in particular remain pretty much unrecognised by the music business hangs in the air. Ms Bertei provides some convincing explanations for this however.
As a University tome, I was a little apprehensive as usually the more academically 'learned' the work of this kind, the more unreadable the item is - well, to those not embedded within the milieu and language that is.
A few phrases pop-up - 'hetero-normative' being one - but overall this is the objective and well-researched and well-reasoned work of a long-time Labelle fan, which is probably why it is as enjoyable to read as it is. In fact, I ended up wishing that it had another hundred pages of detail and interviews. By the way, one slight disappointment is that there are no photographs - not sure why that is.
If you're new to Labelle - or had forgotten about them - then thanks to YouTube you can quickly see exactly why their fans may be few, but are so fervent. Type Labelle into the Search bar, skip over the videos featuring just Patti (as good as she is as a solo artist) and bear with the usually lousy video quality. Forget Lady Marmalade (again, as good as it is) and hunt down maybe 'Can I speak to you before you go to Hollywood?', 'What can I do for you?', 'Black holes in the sky' and maybe their Final Concert. I'd be surprised if your first thought was that they were dated, because - as Ms Bertei contends - they were probably at least 30 years ahead of their time.
So, thank you Adele Bertei - in sitting down to write this book, you've managed to please many fans and also hopefully generate a few more worldwide. The next thing we need is a worthy documentary, maybe on Netflix etc.
August 1, 2021
Tosh and I discuss this with the author Adele Bertei on our Book Musik podcast along with her other recent book Peter and the Wolves.
Adele started singing and playing music in the nascent punk scene in Cleveland with her dear friend Peter Laughner. Her memoir about that time is a stunningly poignant reminder of what an important role a single person can play in one’s life. It’s a vivid portrait of Peter as well as the music scene in both Cleveland and New York in the 1970s which were heady times to say the least. At the same time, Adele has had a longtime love of everything Labelle and she lets us know that they do indeed matter! Starting out as a more traditional “girl group” in the 60s, Labelle broke free of those constraints and then nothing could hold them back. Labelle shattered boundaries creatively and pushed for women’s rights with an all-female team behind them and supported the LGBTQ community long before anyone else.
Adele started singing and playing music in the nascent punk scene in Cleveland with her dear friend Peter Laughner. Her memoir about that time is a stunningly poignant reminder of what an important role a single person can play in one’s life. It’s a vivid portrait of Peter as well as the music scene in both Cleveland and New York in the 1970s which were heady times to say the least. At the same time, Adele has had a longtime love of everything Labelle and she lets us know that they do indeed matter! Starting out as a more traditional “girl group” in the 60s, Labelle broke free of those constraints and then nothing could hold them back. Labelle shattered boundaries creatively and pushed for women’s rights with an all-female team behind them and supported the LGBTQ community long before anyone else.
July 6, 2021
I love learning about music history, and though I'm familiar with Ms Patty (and her cookbooks) I didn't know the full story of LaBelle (or the Bluebelles). Afrofuturists before that became a thing, they didn't get the full credit that eventually went to male performers (I'm sure you can think of the ones credited with space). Great passionate telling of badass black women making badass music and not compromising along the way. Generations owe this band.
August 2, 2021
We interviewed Adele on our podcast BOOK MUSIK. Here: Book Musik podcast
July 21, 2021
As much an amalgam of prose forms—essay, history, love letter, critique—as its subject was hybrid of sounds and styles, Adele Bertei’s Why Labelle Matters is a bracing treasure trove of pop revelation . Bertei, herself a prolific music and film maker, makes a powerful case for the watershed cultural importance of early 1970s rock-funk trio of Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. Foundering as the Bluebelles, whose repertoire and performances were squarely in the realm of traditional ‘60s girl groups, the group was reinvented and rechristened under the canny tutelage of Vicki Wickham, the business and romantic partner of Dusty Springfield. With a raw, gospel-tinged, sexually empowered sound, Labelle exuded genre-busting, gender-bending confidence. They opened for the Who on tour, and recorded albums that combined rollicking covers of songs including the Stones’ “Wild Horses” and Cat Stevens’ “Moon Shadow”; New Orleans-influenced R&B; and change-the-world protest stompers like “Shades of Difference.” The trio’s album with white pop star Laura Nyro crackled with lesbian subtext and their outrageous sci-fi fashion sense helped build a cultish following of queers and glam rockers. If your main impression of Patti Labelle comes from the overproduced studio versions of her later solo hits and your knowledge of Labelle, the group, is limited to “Lady Marmalade”, this punchy little volume will open your ears to a progressive past that still sounds like the future.
June 28, 2022
Incredible storytelling of Labelle's history and their music. Labelle were THE epicenter of Afrofuturism and gospel funk in music and this book takes you on a spaceship to their planet. Bertei's love for the group as musicians, icons, and people truly shines throughout. Was very hard to put down! Definitely a must-read!
May 30, 2024
Why Labelle Matters: When I first heard the title of this book I was interested. Then I saw it was written by some one I know. That was a year ago. After reading this book and learning what I learned from reading it I am floored by what kind of void is filled by the right person writing the right book about a topic they respect and understand. Adele Bertei is the expert voice that intellectually kicks down the last wall of music industry gatekeepers by showing how Labelle did so much that influenced others and without the label support or consideration that was given to male counterparts. And because of that there is a whole lot of Afrofuturism in music you least expect. This is not just a music history…it is history.
June 29, 2024
Adele Bertei (when will there will be a book about this radical femme’s own contributions to music history?) does a wonderful job of putting history and feeling together in this mini-primer on the virtues and importance of this seminal afrofuturist group. Anyone looking for what kind of feminist charge - musically and poetically - lies behind these space children will enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews