Patti LaBelle has had an illustrious career in the world of RnB and Soul music. And the fact that she only ever achieved just one #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, doesn’t take anything away from it.
By the time she started her career as a solo vocalist – something she was always destined to be, with the kind of monumental instrument that resided within her, Patti had already achieved significant success as the frontwoman of her group – LaBelle (previously known as Bluebelles and also Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles).
The group’s iconic #1 hit single, ‘Lady Marmalade’ stands as one of her most iconic records till date – which was later revamped by the likes of Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya and Lil Kim, for the 2001 movie – Moulin Rouge.
View this post on Instagram
But her only #1 as a soloist – ‘On My Own’, released in the year 1986 passed-on her iconic-status to another generation, and gave her a crossover appeal that turned her then released album – ‘Winner In You’ – her only project to chart outside of the United States, appearing in the tallies of countries like – the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
LaBelle’s soulful collaboration in the song, with another talented vocalist – Michael McDonald, brought to life this heartbreaking yet romantic, tune about loving and letting go.
Interestingly, both singers recorded their parts separately from different cities, yet when their contrasting voices were amalgamated – it came out beautifully.
View this post on Instagram
Miss. LaBelle had previously stated how the song was in fact, never meant to be a duet – but she later came-in with the idea to include McDonald into the picture.
“The song was sent to me and I did a version of it but somehow it just didn’t quite work,” she said of it. “We were going over things I’d done and we talked about turning it into a duet. Someone asked, ‘If you could do it with anyone, who would you sing it with?’, and Michael was my first choice.”
And as you’d have, we got one of the most stunning duets on marriage, divorce and everything in-between.
Watch it below: