Patricia Louise Holt, known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".
LaBelle in 2004
LaBelle (center) with her Labelle bandmates Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash in a 1974 promotional photo
LaBelle promoting AIDS awareness in the 1980s
LaBelle singing at an Obama presidential campaign event in 2008
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.
Labelle in 1975. L-R: Nona Hendryx, Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash.