Soul + Breakups + Lady Marmalade
Formed in Philadelphia in 1962 under the name The Bluebelles, Patti LaBelle and her bandmates Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash quickly built a reputation as a powerful live act.
Early hits included I Sold My Heart to the Junkman, Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song), You’ll Never Walk Alone—Liverpool’s anthem—and Over the Rainbow.
The group already had a strong identity, but the lineup was about to change.
From The Bluebelles to Labelle
In 1967, Cindy Birdsong left the group to join The Supremes. The Bluebelles had been touring with The Supremes, so her departure created tension between the remaining members.
Rather than simply continue in the same direction, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash eventually reinvented themselves. By 1971, they had rebranded as Labelle and released their self-titled debut under the new name.
The transformation was significant. This wasn’t just a new name—it was a new musical direction.
The album included striking covers of Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones and You’ve Got a Friend by Carole King.
For a guitarist, this is an interesting part of Labelle’s story. They weren’t afraid to take familiar songs and completely rethink how they could work as a group.
Labelle’s Cover-Song Years
Their second album, Moonshadow, followed in 1972. It included the Cat Stevens title track as well as Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who.
Then came Pressure Cookin’, where Labelle pushed even further away from their earlier sound.
They covered Gil Scott-Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and introduced (Can I Speak to You Before You Go to) Hollywood, a song addressing how they felt about Cindy Birdsong leaving the group for Diana Ross.
The album was produced by Vicky Wickham alongside a rather remarkable “friend”—Stevie Wonder.
Wonder also contributed Open Up Your Heart, giving Labelle another connection to one of the great songwriters and musicians of the era.
Working with Stevie Wonder seems like the kind of collaboration that could only push a group like Labelle further. And their next album would produce the song that changed everything.
Labelle’s Defining Hit
Their fourth album, Nightbirds, featured the groups signature tune, Lady Marmalade, and suddenly, Labelle had a global hit. Lady Marmalade sold one million copies in the U.S. alone and remained a given on the working-band repertoire for decades.
That’s a big reason I like this song so much from a guitarist’s point of view. It’s not simply a famous recording to know—it’s a standard.
You can hear why it survives in live repertoires. The groove is instantly recognisable, the vocal arrangement gives the band plenty to work with, and the whole thing has an energy that translates extremely well from stage to dance floor.
It’s also a great example of why learning songs for a repertoire isn’t just about learning the chords. You need to understand the groove, the arrangement, the stops and starts, and how the guitar supports the vocals.
A Tune That Keeps Coming Back
Lady Marmalade has been covered many times, including versions by Sabrina and All Saints, however, the most famous later version came from Christina Aguilera alongside Lil’ Kim, Mýa, and Pink for Moulin Rouge!.
The song’s ability to keep returning in completely different musical settings says something about the strength of the original. And that’s one of the things I look for when building a guitar repertoire.
Some songs belong to a particular period. Others somehow escape their era and become working-band standards. Lady Marmalade is firmly in the second category.
Labelle and the Art of the Cover
One of the most interesting things about Labelle’s story is how often they embraced songs written or recorded by other artists.
Over the Rainbow, Wild Horses, You’ve Got a Friend, Moonshadow, Won’t Get Fooled Again, and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised all come from very different musical worlds. That makes Labelle useful inspiration for guitarists.
When you’re learning a song, don’t assume the original arrangement is the only way to play it. A great working musician needs to be able to take a song and make it work for the band in front of them.
Sometimes that means stripping a huge production back to guitar and voice. Sometimes it means finding the groove and leaving space. And sometimes, as Labelle demonstrated, it means taking a familiar song somewhere completely unexpected.
Building Your Labelle Guitar Repertoire
If you’re putting together a repertoire of Soul, R&B and Disco-era tunes, Labelle gives you some excellent material to explore.
But don’t just learn the chord sequence. Listen to the original recordings and pay attention to the groove, dynamics, vocal arrangement and space. That’s where the real guitar lesson is.
Labelle’s story is a reminder that great musicians don’t simply reproduce songs. They interpret them. And when you’re building your own repertoire, that’s exactly what you want to learn to do.
Labelle Tunes | Related Pages
Jimmy Mack | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Jimmy Mack by Martha and The Vandellas using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, a backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Gb |
Jimmy Mack, Jimmy. Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you comin’ back…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Jimmy Mack – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Lady Marmalade | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Lady Marmalade by Labelle using chords, lyrics, chord analysis a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Gm7 | C9 |
He met Marmalade down in old New Orleans…
Over The Rainbow | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy using chords, lyrics, TAB, chord analysis, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Over The Rainbow – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
You’ve Got A Friend | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play You’ve Got A Friend by Carol King using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| Em | B7/F# | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em Em/D |
When you’re down and troubled and you need some lovin’ care…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: You’ve Got A Friend (Carole King) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Labelle on the web
