Friday, March 31, 2023

#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.

6 comments:

  1. My lone Patti LaBelle "On My Own" memory is the guy in the apartment below me, blaring the song after his on-again-off-again girlfriend, who he warred with loudly, left him (of course she came back). ... Lady Marmalade was party of my childhood (had no idea what it was about). But I wasn't a big fan of '80s LaBelle.

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  2. I was never a big fan of LaBelle, but I'll mention her cover of "Won't Get Fooled Again" just because most people reading this are going "PATTI LABELLE DID 'WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN'? Whaaaaaat?" But it's pretty good.

    I think my favorite from Dionne Warwick is "Walk On By". She's pretty funny on Twitter, though, as when she trolled Chance The Rapper by declaring herself Dionne The Singer.

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  3. I know this set had a lot of obscure/one-hit wonder artists, so I'm wondering if any card back bio can match Patti LaBelle's longevity. 1962?!? Take that, Information Society lol.

    Also, since you mentioned it I chuckled at the thought of Patti flipping the bird behind that black box.

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  4. As soon as I saw the title and saw LaBelle's name... "On My Own" came to mind (have a feeling I'll be singing that song today). And Warwick? Psychic Friends Network.

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  5. I forgot how good the Beverly Hills soundtrack was.

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  6. I haven't heard very many Patti Labelle songs, and my only memories of Dionne Warwick are of her awkward appearance on Dean Martin's Roast of Sammy Davis Jr., and all of the Psychic Hotline commercials/infomercials from when I was a kid.

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