Top 15-Patti Labelle - Release (Long Disco Version)

Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holte; May 24, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She fronted two groups, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, which received minor success on the pop charts in the 1960s, and Labelle, which received acclaim and a mainstream breakthrough in 1974 with their song "Lady Marmalade". She went on to have a solo recording career, earning another U.S. #1 single in 1986 with "On My Own", a duet with Michael McDonald.

She is renowned for her passionate stage performances, wide vocal range and distinctive high-octave belting. Her biography, Don't Block the Blessings, remained at the top of The New York Times best-seller list for several weeks. She has sold over 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been called the Godmother of Soul, the High Priestess of Good Vibrations and the Queen Of Rock & Soul.

LaBelle released her self-titled debut in 1977 on Epic Records, which featured the top twenty R&B dance single, "Joy to Have Your Love" and the modestly-charted gospel ballad, "You Are My Friend", which she co-wrote and dedicated to her son. The album received critical acclaim but didn't give LaBelle any commercial success. Other albums such as 1978's Tasty 1979's It's Alright with Me, 1980's Released and 1981's The Spirit's in It, which included her now classic solo cover of her old Bluebelles single, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", also failed to chart successfully. On July 21, 1979, she appeared at the Amandla Festival along with Bob Marley, Dick Gregory and Eddie Palmieri, among others. That same year, she cut a performance for Richard Pryor's Wanted concert film though her scenes were cut. In 1980, she scored a Dutch top twenty hit and a modest U.S. dance hit with "Release (The Tension)". Three years later, in 1982, LaBelle and singer Al Green participated in the revival of the successful Broadway play, "Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God". That same year she also appeared in a televised play that aired on PBS. That same year, she recorded the hit ballad, "The Best is Yet to Come", which she was featured on by Grover Washington, Jr. The song reached number fourteen on the R&B chart and garnered LaBelle her first solo Grammy Award nomination.