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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 the Epic label. The album features the group's biggest hit, "Lady Marmalade," and it became their most successful album to date.
Labelle was a group. Despite control—member Nona Hendryx began composing most of the group's material - the group hadn't had commercial success with their first three albums - Labelle, Moon Shadow, and Pressure Cookin' . All albums had flirted with elements of rock music mixed with the group's soul/gospel roots from their days as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Despite this, the group became a draw as opening acts for The Who, Laura Nyro, and The Rolling Stones. Following their opening act on the Stones' 1973 U.S. tour, Epic Records signed the show to its roster.[ citation needed ]
The group was assigned to notable New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint and the group was sent to Toussaint's hometown of New Orleans to work on the record that would eventually be released as Nightbirds. They recorded the album in two months. Along with their adaptation of glam rock-styled outfits during their live performances, the group incorporated elements of funk music, something they included in their last album, Pressure Cookin on the song "Goin' On a Holiday." The funk direction continued with songs such as "Are You Lonely," "Somebody, Somewhere", "Space Children," and their famous hit, "Lady Marmalade". More experimental glam rockers such as "Nightbirds" and "It Took a Long Time" showed the group's range, while the album closer, "You Turn Me On" was a sexy R&B slow jam, which shocked past listeners of the Bluebelles' material.[ citation needed ]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A− [1] |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
The album became their most successful to date, becoming their first album to hit both the pop and R&B charts - neither of their previous albums charted - peaking at number seven on the latter chart, thanks to the phenomenal success of the funk single, "Lady Marmalade", one of the few songs not written by Nona Hendryx. The group's only other hit single, "What Can I Do For You", was written by Queens, New York musicians Edward Batts and James Ellison, who would continue to work for Patti LaBelle following the split of the group. The other members of their touring band, Jeffrey Shannon (drums), Hector Seda (bass) and Leslie "Chuggy" Carter (percussionist), were all responsible for their individual instrumental arrangements, of which, many were used on the Nightbird album and on all live performances.
The album remains their most successful album, certified platinum in the U.S. for selling over a million copies. Due to this success, Labelle landed on the cover of Rolling Stone .
With Nightbirds, Labelle were praised for mixing their R&B/soul sound with elements of rock and funk. The success of the album's two singles also helped to pioneer the disco movement, which peaked in the late 1970s and influenced dance music for three decades. In 2003, the album was ranked number 272 on Rolling Stone's magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 274 in a 2012 revised list. [6] That same year, the album's leading hit track, "Lady Marmalade", was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Several acts have covered "Lady Marmalade" into international successes on their own including; All Saints and the quartet collaboration between singers Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Lil' Kim and Pink. "It Took a Long Time" was featured during the final scene and ending credits to the motion picture Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire .
In addition to the standard 2-channel stereo version the album was also released by Epic in a 4 channel quadraphonic edition on LP record and 8-track tape. The quad LP was encoded using the SQ matrix format.
The album was reissued by Audio Fidelity on the Super Audio CD format in 2015. This version contains both the complete stereo and quad mixes.
All tracks are written by Nona Hendryx, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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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 |
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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
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Year | Single | Chart positions [14] | |||
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US | US R&B | US Dance | AUS [15] | ||
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".
"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.
George Porter Jr. is an American musician, best known as the bassist and singer of the Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 1960s and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989. The original group played the occasional reunion, with the Funky Meters, of which Porter and Neville are members, keeping the spirit alive, until Neville's retirement in 2018 and death the following year.
I'm In Love Again is the sixth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle in 1983. It was released by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment on November 25, 1983, in the United States. LaBelle's commercial breakthrough, it featured her first top ten R&B hits, "Love, Need and Want You" and "If Only You Knew", the latter topping the R&B chart in early 1984. It was later certified gold for selling half a million copies and paved the way for her pop breakthrough in late 1984 with the dance hit "New Attitude".
Burnin' is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on October 1, 1991, in the United States to mixed reviews. The album features several collaborations, including duets with Gladys Knight and Michael Bolton, and a reunion track with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash from Labelle. It yielded three Billboard R&B chart hits: "Feels Like Another One", "Somebody Loves You Baby " and "When You've Been Blessed ".
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.
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"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.
"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".
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