 patricia louise holte-edwards (born may 24, 1944), better known under the stage name patti labelle, is an american singer, author, and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry. labelle spent 16 years as lead singer of patti labelle and the bluebelles, who changed their name to labelle in the early 1970s and released the iconic disco song "lady marmalade". labelle are also noted for being the first african american group to play at the prestigious metropolitan opera house and the first african american vocal group to land the cover of rolling stone magazine.  her solo career began shortly after the group disbanded in 1977 with the release of her self-titled and critically acclaimed debut album. in 1984 she achieved her first #1 r&b hit with if only you knew, while later in the year, she crossed over to pop music with singles such as "new attitude" and "stir it up", both becoming pop radio staples. her success with the number single "on my own", a duet with michael mcdonald which was taken from her platinum selling album winner in you as well as 1989's "if you asked me to". with the release of her 10th album burnin' in 1991 patti labelle earned her first grammy. she maintained commercial appeal and gained a younger audience with albums such as 1994's gems and 1997's flame. in 1998 patti labelle earned her second grammy award for her live! one night only c
1944_births Actresses_from_Pennsylvania African-American_actresses African-American_female_singer-songwriters American_dance_musicians American_disco_musicians American_female_pop_singer-songwriters American_film_actresses American_musical_theatre_actresses American_rhythm_and_blues_singer-songwriters American_soft_rock_musicians American_sopranos American_soul_singers Ballad_musicians Baptists_from_the_United_States Def_Jam_Recordings_artists Epic_Records_artists Grammy_Award-winning_artists Labelle_members Living_people MCA_Records_artists Musicians_from_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania Philadelphia_International_Records_artists World_Music_Awards_winners