Description by OLDIES.com:
Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles were exciting recording artists and electrifying stage performers. Known as "The Sweethearts of the Apollo", this recording captures this soulful quartet at their performing best, the highlights being the live versions of their biggest R&B and Pop hits.
Product Description:
Long before Patti LaBelle's tenure as an adult-contemporary star in the 1980s and '90s, and before her group LaBelle unleashed their sexy, space-aged funk in the '70s, Patti and groupmates Cynthia Birdsong, Sarah Dash, and Nona Hendryx had their earliest incarnation as Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. (Dash and Hendryx were also in LaBelle during the '70s.) SWEETHEARTS OF THE APOLLO is a fine early snapshot of the group, capturing them in live performance. The music is staunchly in the mold of early-'60s R&B, with a heavy doo-wop influence and a reliance on smooth soul balladry.
Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles also specialized in folk songs and standards, and their versions of "Danny Boy," "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," and Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" prove the group's ability to make a familiar melody their own. The group's first hit, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman," is also here. Patti LaBelle's powerful soprano soars full tilt even on these early dates, and Birdsong, Dash, and Hendryx weave flawless, tight-knit harmonies, making SWEETHEARTS OF THE APOLLO an enjoyable listen, in addition to its function as an early marker in LaBelle's prolific career.
For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
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