#62 Patti LaBelle (+ Dionne Warwick bonus)

Patti LaBelle is #62 in the 1991 MusiCards set. This photo reminds me of those old Skybox basketball cards with the white background and various colorful shapes n' stuff around the player. The logo box effectively censors Patti's right hand, making me smile at the thought that she's flipping the bird under there, all like "Kiss my ass, I'm Patti F'ing LaBelle!"

We get a look at a different hairstyle on the back. As the write-up states, she's been at it for a long time and had some solid hits along the way.

I remember the likes of "On My Own" (featuring Michael McDonald) getting played a lot on the adult contemporary radio stations my mom played in the car back when I was a kid in the mid 80s. 

Once I started buying cassettes for myself in the late 80s, the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack was among the first albums in my budding music collection. Pretty sure I bought it specifically for Harold Faltermeyer's iconic instrumental "Axel F", but I also really enjoyed Patti's two contributions on the tape: "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up".

She's still active, occasionally performing concerts, and has done a fair amount of television acting in recent years, plus was a contestant on the second season of The Masked Singer.

Let me know in the comments if you have any favorite Patti LaBelle songs or thoughts/memories to share.

Just a quick one-- trying to squeeze in a monthly post before March ends-- but I watched a doc on Dionne Warwick on HBO Max earlier this year, which included Patti LaBelle as a contemporary interview subject. It was pretty interesting and I enjoyed it despite previously not knowing much about Warwick's career other than the basics. She didn't get included in the '91 MusiCard set, so I figured it would make for a good custom to pair with the Patti LaBelle entry.

"Heartbreaker", "I'll Never Love This Way Again", and "That's What Friends Are For" are probably my favorite songs of hers-- more songs that remind me of riding in the backseat as a kid-- but she has plenty of good ones.

Thanks for reading. Huey Lewis is on deck.