| Nightbirds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 13, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Studio | Sea Saint, New Orleans, Louisiana | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:40 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Allen Toussaint | |||
| Labelle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nightbirds | ||||
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Nightbirds is an album by the all-female singing group Labelle, released in 1974 on Epic Records. The album features the group's biggest hit, "Lady Marmalade". It became their best-selling album.
Nona Hendryx became the primary songwriter for the group. Their first three albums—Labelle, Moon Shadow, and Pressure Cookin'—had seen limited commercial success. These albums blended elements of rock music with the group's soul/gospel roots from their days as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Despite limited chart success, the group gained recognition as an opening act for artists such as The Who, Laura Nyro, and The Rolling Stones.[ citation needed ] After touring with the Rolling Stones in 1973, Labelle signed with Epic Records.[ citation needed ]
Producer Allen Toussaint was assigned to the group, and they traveled to Toussaint's hometown of New Orleans to record Nightbirds. The album was completed in two months. Reflecting their glam rock-inspired stage costumes, the group incorporated elements of funk, a style they had explored on their previous album, Pressure Cookin, with the song "Goin' On a Holiday." This funk influence is prominent in songs like "Are You Lonely," "Somebody, Somewhere", "Space Children," and "Lady Marmalade". Other tracks, such as "Nightbirds" and "It Took a Long Time," showcase the group's range, while "You Turn Me On" offered a departure from the Bluebelles' earlier material.[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
Nightbirds became Labelle's most successful album, reaching the pop and R&B charts. It peaked at number seven on the R&B chart, driven by the success of "Lady Marmalade," one of the few songs not written by Nona Hendryx. "What Can I Do For You," their other hit single from the album, was written by Edward Batts and James Ellison. Touring band members Jeffrey Shannon (drums), Hector Seda (bass), and Leslie "Chuggy" Carter (percussion) contributed instrumental arrangements to the album and live performances. The album was certified platinum in the U.S. for sales exceeding one million copies, and Labelle was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone .
Nightbirds garnered praise for its fusion of R&B, soul, rock, and funk. The success of its singles contributed to the rise of disco. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 272 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, later revising its position to 274 in 2012. [7] "Lady Marmalade" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. The song has been covered by numerous artists, including All Saints and a quartet featuring Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Lil' Kim, and Pink. "It Took a Long Time" was featured in the film Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire .
In addition to the standard stereo version, Nightbirds was released in quadraphonic format on LP record and 8-track tape, using the SQ matrix system. Audio Fidelity reissued the album on Super Audio CD in 2015, including both the stereo and quadraphonic mixes.
All tracks are written by Nona Hendryx, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lady Marmalade" | Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Somebody Somewhere" | 3:25 | |
| 3. | "Are You Lonely?" | 3:12 | |
| 4. | "It Took a Long Time" | Raymond Bloodworth, L. Russell Brown, Bob Crewe | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Don't Bring Me Down" | Allen Toussaint | 2:48 |
| Total length: | 17:24 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "What Can I Do for You?" | Edward Batts, James Budd Ellison | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Nightbird" | 3:09 | |
| 8. | "Space Children" | 3:02 | |
| 9. | "All Girl Band" | Allen Toussaint | 3:50 |
| 10. | "You Turn Me On" | 4:37 | |
| Total length: | 18:40 | ||
Technical
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Year | Single | Chart positions [15] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Dance | AUS [8] | ||
| 1974 | "Lady Marmalade" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
Labelle was an American funk rock band that originated out of the Blue Belles, a girl group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The original group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the area around Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and Trenton, in New Jersey: the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, then later changing their name to the Blue Belles. The founding members were Patti LaBelle, Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash.
Patricia Louise Holte, known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".
Nona Bernis Hendryx is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade". In 1977, Hendryx released her self-titled debut solo album, a commercial failure that resulted in Hendryx being released from her recording contract. In the early 1980s, Hendryx sang with experimental funk group Material, achieving the hit "Busting Out".
Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California.
"Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan that is famous for the French refrain of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?", which is a sexual proposition that translates into English as: "Do you want to sleep with me, tonight?" The song first became a popular hit when it was recorded in 1974 by the American funk rock group Labelle and held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week, and also topped the Canadian RPM national singles chart. In 2021, the Library of Congress selected Labelle's version for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
Sarah Dash was an American singer. She first appeared on the music scene as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Dash was later a member of Labelle, and worked as a singer, session musician, and sidewoman for The Rolling Stones, and Keith Richards.
Knights of the Sound Table is the seventh album by the funk band Cameo, released in 1981. It reached number 2 for 3 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 44 on the Billboard 200 chart), and was the band’s fourth consecutive album to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies. The album spawned two hit singles: "Freaky Dancin'" and "I Like It" (which reached number 25 R&B. The track “Don’t Be So Cool” featured a guest appearance by former Labelle member Nona Hendryx and also received airplay on R&B stations at the time. Hendryx joined Cameo for a performance of the song on Soul Train that first aired on June 20, 1981.
Back to Now is the seventh studio album by American female vocal group Labelle, released on October 21, 2008. The album is the group's first in over thirty years though they had sung on songs together on occasion.
Chameleon is the sixth album by the American singing trio Labelle. Though Patti LaBelle's autobiography Don't Block The Blessings revealed that LaBelle planned a follow-up to Chameleon entitled Shaman, the album never materialized. The trio would not release another new recording until 2008's Back to Now. The final album was moderately successful peaking at #94 at the Pop charts and #21 on the R&B charts. Only two singles made the charts which were "Get You Somebody New" which peaked at #50 on the Pop charts and their memorable song "Isn't It A Shame" which peaked at #18 on the R&B charts. "Isn't It A Shame" was later sampled by Nelly on his 2004 hit, "My Place", which featured Jaheim.
Phoenix is the fifth album by the American singing trio Labelle. The album was moderately successful, peaking at #44 on the pop charts and #10 on the R&B charts. Only one minor hit was released, "Messin With My Mind", written by Nona Hendryx.
Pressure Cookin' is the third album by American singing trio Labelle, released in August 1973. This release was their first and only for RCA Records, and was critically raved due to the songs that songwriter and member Nona Hendryx composed. The album is also notable for being the first album released following lead singer Patti LaBelle giving birth to her only child, son Zuri Edwards.
Moon Shadow is the second album by American singing trio Labelle. This release was their second and last album for Warner Bros. Records. The album is notable for their soulful rendition of The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", the socially conscious "I Believe That I've Finally Made It Home" and the nine-minute title track in which Patti introduces all the musicians as they do their live solos. This is the first album where member Nona Hendryx begins taking over most of the songwriting.
Labelle is the debut album of American singing trio Labelle, formerly a four-girl group known as Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. This was Labelle's first release for Warner Bros. Records.
Carmine Rojas is an American bass guitarist, musical director and composer. His musical styles include rock, R&B, funk, and jazz.
"You Are My Friend" is a ballad co-written and recorded by American singer Patti LaBelle, released as the second single off her self-titled debut album, in 1978 on the Epic label. While it only reached as high as number sixty-one on the Billboard Hot-Selling Soul Singles chart upon its initial release, it has gone on to become one of the singer's signature anthems.
This is the discography documenting albums and singles released by the American female vocal group Labelle. The group was known as The Ordettes from 1958 to 1961 and The Blue Belles from 1962 to 1970, changing their name to simply Labelle in 1971.
"Down the Aisle " is a doo-wop ballad recorded and released by girl group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles in 1963. The song became a hit success for the Philadelphia-based vocal group following the controversial release of their "debut hit", 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman".
Another Mother Further is the third full-length studio album by Atlanta funk-rock group Mother's Finest. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records and co-produced by Tom Werman. It managed to chart one single, "Piece of the Rock".
The Art of Defense is the third studio album by the American musician Nona Hendryx. It was released in 1984 by RCA Records.
Nightbirds, produced by New Orleans funk-soul legend Allen Toussaint, was a dawn-of-disco watershed...
