Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle (Patricia Holte) has spent more than six decades as one of R&B's most powerful live vocalists, rising from Philadelphia doo-wop with Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles through the glam-funk of Labelle ("Lady Marmalade") into a chart-topping solo career defined by 1980s hits like "New Attitude" and "If Only You Knew." Known as the "Godmother of Soul," she is celebrated for a gospel-trained belt carried from Baptist church choirs to arena stages.
LaBelle has called Aretha Franklin her hero and "the greatest singer in the world" — Franklin's gospel-rooted, full-voiced soul delivery set the standard LaBelle measured her own singing against.
listen forA simple lyric torn open by raw power rather than ornament — Franklin's "Respect" and LaBelle's "New Attitude" both lead with that same forceful, declarative belt.
Alongside Franklin, LaBelle is described as drawing a soul influence from Lorraine Ellison, whose orchestral, gospel-drenched "Stay With Me" is a touchstone for the slow-building, all-or-nothing torch ballad LaBelle made a signature.
listen forA held-back verse that suddenly detonates into a shouted, orchestra-backed climax — Ellison's "Stay With Me" is the blueprint; LaBelle's "If Only You Knew" follows the same arc.
Before Labelle's glam-funk reinvention, the Blue Belles modeled their sound on the early-1960s girl-group blueprint the Shirelles helped invent — tight, close harmonies over a doo-wop-indebted backbeat.
listen forCall-and-response backing vocals cushioning a plaintive lead — compare the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" to the Blue Belles' own early ballad "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)."