Patti LaBelle: The Breakout Year
Episode 195 • 13th October 2025 • Queue Points • Queue Points LLC
00:00:00 00:35:03

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Sir Daniel:

Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast.

Sir Daniel:

I'm DJ Sir Daniel

Jay Ray:

And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my governments as

Jay Ray:

Johnnie Ray Kornegay III, And Sir Daniel,

Sir Daniel:

Yoyo.

Jay Ray:

we about to talk about a diva!

Sir Daniel:

The, the diva of all divas.

Sir Daniel:

You know, recently, um, Stephanie Mills, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and the

Sir Daniel:

incomparable Patti Labelle have taken the United States by storm by going on

Sir Daniel:

an amazing tour to showcase the talents that they have honed for the past.

Sir Daniel:

Ooh, almost for half a century,

Jay Ray:

Absolutely.

Sir Daniel:

And they have been receiving nothing but love and

Sir Daniel:

nothing but strong accolades.

Sir Daniel:

And it got us to thinking about the mature dolls, the mature I

Sir Daniel:

call, I, I call them the mature

Jay Ray:

is your, you have coined that phrase because Sir Daniel, and

Jay Ray:

this is a very, um, I mean from the era that we grew up in, of course

Jay Ray:

we grew up seeing these women.

Jay Ray:

On tv, they would be on, on specials.

Jay Ray:

They would always be singing on something.

Jay Ray:

You know, they, they were just omnipresent.

Jay Ray:

But when we really think about it, these women were seasoned

Jay Ray:

in their careers, right?

Jay Ray:

And in the, in the early to mid eighties, all of a sudden,

Jay Ray:

these mature dolls were next

Jay Ray:

level.

Sir Daniel:

So Jay Ray and I are discussing the fact that by the time we,

Sir Daniel:

we, we became aware of Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel:

By the time we became aware of Patti LaBelle.

Sir Daniel:

Patti LaBelle had already been in the industry for 20 years.

Sir Daniel:

She was experiencing a new life as an artist.

Sir Daniel:

She was a mature doll at the time.

Sir Daniel:

Pat this, this around of time, this space of time that we're discussing,

Sir Daniel:

Patti LaBelle had turned 41, 41 and four, and when you think about it.

Sir Daniel:

For women, especially 30 is a death sentence.

Sir Daniel:

30 is like they wanna push you in a corner and put you away.

Sir Daniel:

But for the mature dolls, like a pat lapel, like Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel:

They overcame that and they become something of a phenomenon.

Sir Daniel:

And that's what we're gonna discuss on this particular episode of Queue

Sir Daniel:

Points podcast, the Mature Doll series.

Sir Daniel:

And this first doll that we're gonna discuss is none other than Patti LaBelle.

Sir Daniel:

You know what's Patti's real name is?

Sir Daniel:

Patricia Holt.

Jay Ray:

let me look at, uh, what is Patti LaBelle's real name?

Jay Ray:

I got all my stuff here.

Jay Ray:

Patricia Louise Holt

Sir Daniel:

Yes.

Sir Daniel:

Patricia.

Jay Ray:

Philly.

Sir Daniel:

From your neck of the woods and I love calling her, um, Patricia.

Sir Daniel:

'cause it's just so you know.

Sir Daniel:

Hey, Patricia.

Sir Daniel:

Um, Jay Ray.

Sir Daniel:

Why do you love Patti LaBelle?

Jay Ray:

Ooh, that is a good question.

Jay Ray:

Um, I love Patti LaBelle because she combines.

Jay Ray:

Uh, immense talent with showman, the show woman ship.

Sir Daniel:

Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray:

So it's not just that she is going to sing the roof

Jay Ray:

down, she is also going to be entertaining while she does it.

Jay Ray:

And you know, the other thing I like about Patti LaBelle is Pat Label be could cook.

Jay Ray:

Like Patti LaBelle has been very clear about being able to cook.

Jay Ray:

You know, I like a kitchen, so that's what I really like about her is one,

Jay Ray:

she's incredibly talented and she's gonna do that, but she's gonna be like

Jay Ray:

really entertaining while she does it.

Jay Ray:

Um, what about you?

Jay Ray:

What do you like about Patti?

Sir Daniel:

It's the, well, you know me, I love, um, I love people

Sir Daniel:

that are outrageous and, but in a creative and beautiful way.

Sir Daniel:

Um, there is a tenderness.

Sir Daniel:

And, and in Agape love that I feel from Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Sir Daniel:

Like when she says, when she sings, um, I'm love.

Sir Daniel:

And, um, when she sings, when they sing, what I, what can I do for you?

Sir Daniel:

And they talk about love.

Sir Daniel:

What's your name?

Sir Daniel:

I'm love, love.

Sir Daniel:

I believe that.

Sir Daniel:

I really do feel that.

Sir Daniel:

From her, and I don't think, I think the, the history shows that

Sir Daniel:

you cannot last in this industry.

Sir Daniel:

You cannot maintain the fandom that she has without being a genuine person and

Sir Daniel:

without people really feeling that love.

Sir Daniel:

From you.

Sir Daniel:

So I think that is something that, um, she has been able to channel using her gifts,

Sir Daniel:

her voice, um, that's how she's able to draw you in as her kitchen kinfolk.

Sir Daniel:

That's how she's able to draw you in because she's, she's just that vessel.

Sir Daniel:

So I. You know, and again, I, you know me, I'm the king of camp around here.

Sir Daniel:

I love foolishness.

Sir Daniel:

I love, I love when it's done, right?

Sir Daniel:

When people, that people that are, can do it and they can do it right.

Jay Ray:

And, and, and Patti is definitely that.

Jay Ray:

And so in, in terms of the era, right?

Jay Ray:

So.

Jay Ray:

Sir Daniel was talking about the fact that, so.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle's breakout year kind of happens in 1984.

Jay Ray:

Um, so this is an interesting time period.

Jay Ray:

So we did a show, y'all should go back and check it out.

Jay Ray:

On the divas of 83, 1 of the divas of 83 was of course, Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

And Patti LaBelle had dropped a record that year, which I, we

Jay Ray:

talked about this on the show.

Jay Ray:

I did not realize.

Jay Ray:

That love, need, and want.

Jay Ray:

And, um, if only you knew were on the same album, which was

Jay Ray:

on her, I'm in Love again.

Jay Ray:

Philadelphia International Record came out in 1983.

Jay Ray:

I literally, you could have, I thought those was on two different records.

Jay Ray:

Anyway, that, so Patti LaBelle has a big year, right?

Jay Ray:

So 1983 becomes a big year.

Jay Ray:

This I'm in Love again, record includes like some jazz number, jazzy numbers, um,

Jay Ray:

some, uh, quintessential kind of Philly.

Jay Ray:

Early eighties production, but then it's these two big, these two

Jay Ray:

major ballots are on the album.

Jay Ray:

So coming out of that, um.

Jay Ray:

Patti's hot, you know what I'm saying?

Jay Ray:

And, and culturally, just to kind of set the stage for why this could even

Jay Ray:

happen, I don't know if this is true, sir Daniel, but I think it might be, I think

Jay Ray:

actually Michael Jackson has something to do with why all of what we're talking

Jay Ray:

about with the mature doles able to be a thing because thriller happens in 82.

Jay Ray:

Michael Jackson kicks open the door.

Jay Ray:

Of MTV and just black artists existing outside of black households, right?

Jay Ray:

So black artists obviously were always universal, but there was all,

Jay Ray:

there was like a black lane and then there was like a. A white pop lane.

Jay Ray:

Michael Jackson was like, I'm doing both of those things.

Jay Ray:

So, and I'm not gonna just do both of those things.

Jay Ray:

I'm gonna do them big.

Jay Ray:

So I wonder now in retrospect, if the fact that he kicked that door open, right.

Jay Ray:

Um, in 1982 and 1983 allowed for.

Jay Ray:

White audiences to be able to see black artists as like diverse and

Jay Ray:

different and which means that these mature dolls are now like that.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

I wanna sign her.

Jay Ray:

She is good.

Jay Ray:

And so she signs to MCA and and gets a deal over there.

Jay Ray:

A big major from Philly International to MCA.

Sir Daniel:

Right.

Sir Daniel:

Um, you know what, thank you for putting that in perspective that Yes.

Sir Daniel:

Um, Michael Jackson was the primer for all of these, um, heritage acts.

Sir Daniel:

People that we already knew were, like you said, were all

Sir Daniel:

of a sudden becoming discovered.

Sir Daniel:

You know, the whole Columbus effect, all of a sudden being

Sir Daniel:

discovered by broader audiences like,

Jay Ray:

Right.

Jay Ray:

I just learned there's a new artist I discovered.

Sir Daniel:

Ah, this, she's, she's, she's really fun.

Sir Daniel:

She's got great hair, and so as you mentioned, Patti has

Sir Daniel:

left Philly International and she, now, she's on MCA records.

Sir Daniel:

And we gotta mention at this time, um, Gerald Busby is in charge of black

Sir Daniel:

music over there at MCA and MCA has Jody Watley, Bobby Brown, new Edition.

Sir Daniel:

Um, who am I missing?

Jay Ray:

Oh, there's about the Jets.

Jay Ray:

One of my

Sir Daniel:

The jets.

Sir Daniel:

Absolutely.

Sir Daniel:

So MCA look, MCA got the black on lock.

Sir Daniel:

You know they've got the blackness on lock.

Sir Daniel:

But here we have Patti LaBelle, who is concretely stunt, um,

Sir Daniel:

staunched, uh, r and b artist.

Sir Daniel:

Right.

Sir Daniel:

Um.

Sir Daniel:

Breakout, uh, the labels, they did all their thing.

Sir Daniel:

They did a rock and

Jay Ray:

Oh, yeah.

Sir Daniel:

thing.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel:

and as a soloist, she's complete the Philadelphia sound.

Sir Daniel:

She's RB through and through.

Sir Daniel:

Now, what is MCA going to do with this mature doll?

Sir Daniel:

What are they going to, what kind of music are they going to give the

Sir Daniel:

public that people are going to eat up?

Sir Daniel:

And so.

Sir Daniel:

We see the, one of the very first offerings comes in the form of a

Sir Daniel:

song on the Beverly Hills soundtrack

Jay Ray:

Hills Cop.

Jay Ray:

Yep.

Sir Daniel:

Beverly Hills.

Sir Daniel:

Yeah.

Sir Daniel:

Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack starring Eddie Murphy.

Sir Daniel:

And sidebar, there's another, there's another song on the same soundtrack

Sir Daniel:

by a trio of mature dolls who have kind of gone through the same thing.

Sir Daniel:

It's like.

Sir Daniel:

This era of the eighties, I don't know what it is about mature black women,

Sir Daniel:

but the people were eating them up.

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Sir Daniel:

They ate up Patti LaBelle because Patti LaBelle had,

Sir Daniel:

well, she, no, this was stirred up before The new attitude.

Sir Daniel:

But new attitude was like, new attitude was out, out of there because that

Sir Daniel:

was something that they could sell.

Sir Daniel:

I remember they, I heard the song in commercials, you know, they were selling,

Sir Daniel:

uh, hair care products, selling panty holes, everything with new attitude.

Sir Daniel:

You name it, but Stir it Up is a, is a special song though.

Sir Daniel:

Jay Ray, and I think I told you what I think the, the, the recipe behind

Sir Daniel:

Stir it up is, but what do you think of stir it up when you hear it?

Jay Ray:

Oh no.

Jay Ray:

Stir it up is like squarely an eighties jam.

Jay Ray:

And the reason why I say it in that way is there are some songs that

Jay Ray:

you listen to that you're like, oh, this is just like a timeless sound.

Jay Ray:

The 1980s had a very specific synthesized, um, sound where now

Jay Ray:

synthesizers are kind of part of it.

Jay Ray:

Uh, uh, producers are not using live musicians, uh, in the same way anymore.

Jay Ray:

Live musicians are playing these sym, these synthesizers, right?

Jay Ray:

So stir it up.

Jay Ray:

Um, is that, you know what I'm saying?

Jay Ray:

Stir it up is, but it's, it's also rooted in blackness.

Jay Ray:

Like stir it up is like a, you know what I'm saying?

Jay Ray:

You can do a thing to it.

Sir Daniel:

I say stirred up is a, is a, is a church pop song.

Sir Daniel:

It's a, it's a p praise and worship hybrid.

Sir Daniel:

It's got, like you said, it's fully synthesized, right?

Sir Daniel:

Fully synth pop.

Sir Daniel:

They, there's no live drum That's a drum machine keeping that beat, but they,

Sir Daniel:

that, that beat is a, is a church clap.

Sir Daniel:

That's a dun dun.

Sir Daniel:

And there are several, there are several black songs that are

Sir Daniel:

breaking into the pop landscape.

Sir Daniel:

With that kind of, with that vibe, with that, um, what I call the

Sir Daniel:

church clap beat, but stirred up is that, um, the lyrics is about this

Sir Daniel:

woman who is, you know, shaking things up and changing things.

Sir Daniel:

And that is the whole, that's the through line for Patti

Sir Daniel:

LaBelle in this moment is that.

Sir Daniel:

Through these new songs.

Sir Daniel:

She's telling the story like, Hey, remember me, I'm back.

Sir Daniel:

I'm a little bit older, but you know, I've got, I've changed things up.

Sir Daniel:

I got a whole new look and we gonna get into

Jay Ray:

We gonna get into the look in a minute.

Sir Daniel:

in a minute, but I've got a whole new look and

Sir Daniel:

I've got a brand new song sound.

Sir Daniel:

So get into it.

Sir Daniel:

Here I am.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

So, um, interesting factoid is by the time, new attitude,

Jay Ray:

first of all, new attitude.

Jay Ray:

Um, also from the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack, as DJ Sir mentioned, is a

Jay Ray:

runaway hit in like the black community because first of all, it's, it's.

Jay Ray:

Okay.

Jay Ray:

It's all the hallmarks of Patti LaBelle, so it's like it's high

Jay Ray:

from the beginning where stirred up is a simmer and then it goes up.

Jay Ray:

New attitude is like she's, she's up there at the beginning, right?

Sir Daniel:

At the beginning, and historically we gotta say

Sir Daniel:

that this is the eighties.

Sir Daniel:

The, we're talking about Reaganomics women are, are largely the

Sir Daniel:

leaders of their households now.

Sir Daniel:

And so you've got, this is the, the, the era of the woman's anthem.

Sir Daniel:

The new woman's anthem.

Sir Daniel:

You've got Donna Summers, she's got work hard for the money.

Sir Daniel:

Now.

Sir Daniel:

I got a new attitude, you know, I put on my makeup, I'm, I'm gonna do

Sir Daniel:

all kinds of things to my hair 'cause I've got, I've gotta make it now.

Sir Daniel:

I've gotta, I have to make things happen for myself.

Sir Daniel:

So yes, you're absolutely right there, Ray.

Jay Ray:

So interesting that you, you, you mentioned that because, um, if you go

Jay Ray:

back, um, and you watch the new attitude video, I had I, in preparation for this

Jay Ray:

show, I went back and I watched it.

Jay Ray:

So Patti, that's, uh, here's what happens.

Jay Ray:

Patti is very demure.

Jay Ray:

She's in her best, Dorothy Vak Whites.

Jay Ray:

A suit, uh, skirt suit.

Jay Ray:

It's, it's a lot going on.

Jay Ray:

Shoulder pads happening, and her hair is just like a regular, uh,

Jay Ray:

curl, you know, she went to the, the hairdresser and got it curled.

Jay Ray:

Well, Patti goes into, she comes in and she does the first verse.

Jay Ray:

Like that.

Jay Ray:

And then she goes into the dressing room and she comes out all black

Jay Ray:

sequence number with the, the hair.

Jay Ray:

So there's like a, a, the, the, I don't even know how to describe this hair.

Jay Ray:

It is straight up.

Jay Ray:

It is straight, huh?

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Jay Ray:

Oh, we have pictures.

Jay Ray:

Listen y'all.

Jay Ray:

Um, and we want, um, we are gonna describe what Patti was

Jay Ray:

serving, uh, in these pictures.

Jay Ray:

So gimme one second because I'm gonna pull this up.

Sir Daniel:

So what I think Jay Ray was describing was the vase hair.

Sir Daniel:

I call it the vase hair.

Jay Ray:

the vase hair and it was specifically the one we're looking at

Jay Ray:

three pictures of Patti in the era.

Jay Ray:

There's the one, um, on the left that we're looking at is Patti

Jay Ray:

with kind of the bold vase.

Jay Ray:

It's like a big circle, right?

Jay Ray:

And then the one in the center is like the stir it up.

Jay Ray:

What is this?

Jay Ray:

A tease hair.

Sir Daniel:

So I call this, and I believe that the, um, black women

Sir Daniel:

in the eighties called this look.

Sir Daniel:

It was called the poodle, the poodle cut because No.

Sir Daniel:

Yes, because at the very top, they would take the, the hair at the top.

Sir Daniel:

They would, um, section it off, uh, and cut like a a and, and cut it

Sir Daniel:

into a platform where there it was like this spiky hair at the top.

Sir Daniel:

You would either wear it spiky like that, or they would curl it.

Sir Daniel:

And then they would leave the hair that was, that was left

Sir Daniel:

down to their shoulders straight.

Sir Daniel:

And so it would resemble a poodle.

Sir Daniel:

You know how poodles would get the little curly top and then they'd

Sir Daniel:

have the, the, um, their ears hanging down, and so that's what this is,

Sir Daniel:

but it's straightened at the top.

Sir Daniel:

And of course it's the eighties, so you have to have

Sir Daniel:

a headband every now and then.

Jay Ray:

Absolutely.

Jay Ray:

And then on the right is performance Patti.

Jay Ray:

This is actually Patti at Lave, which we're gonna talk about in a minute.

Jay Ray:

But Patti has the, the straight uh, hair, but it has like a

Jay Ray:

lot of a coutre on in the hair.

Jay Ray:

And, and while we're.

Sir Daniel:

Breath.

Sir Daniel:

That's isn't.

Jay Ray:

breath.

Jay Ray:

That's, that is what that's called.

Jay Ray:

Um, we need to give a shout out to Norma Harris Gordon.

Jay Ray:

She was the woman who was doing Patti LaBelle's hair in this era.

Jay Ray:

And baby, these were, these were works of art that she was creating for Patti to

Jay Ray:

put on top of her head because Patti would just have this hair sitting up there.

Sir Daniel:

I would go further to say that this, um, that Norma

Sir Daniel:

helped Patti to become an icon

Jay Ray:

Oh, absolutely.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Sir Daniel:

because once you, when your look.

Sir Daniel:

You, the way you present, um, can be mimicked and is used to as a

Sir Daniel:

Halloween costume or you know, it is parody and it turn and it still

Sir Daniel:

points back to you because you did it.

Sir Daniel:

That's iconic and you've become an icon.

Sir Daniel:

So yes, shout out to Norma.

Jay Ray:

Shout out to her.

Jay Ray:

So 1984 becomes Patti LaBelle's Breakout year.

Jay Ray:

Uh, new attitude goes to number 17 on the, uh, billboard Hot 100.

Jay Ray:

This is Patti's first Pop Crossover.

Jay Ray:

Hit her fir as a solo artist, right?

Jay Ray:

'cause you know, she has a whole other life with Pat LaBelle

Jay Ray:

and the Blue Bells and LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

So that's another story.

Jay Ray:

But.

Jay Ray:

So coming into, there's a lot of momentum.

Jay Ray:

Around Patti LaBelle, um, and Baby Hollywood comes calling.

Jay Ray:

So of course we talked about Sir Daniel in 1985.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle gets our own special, the Patti LaBelle show.

Jay Ray:

It's a, it's a one night special.

Jay Ray:

And of course we talked about, uh, the fact that Patti LaBelle and

Jay Ray:

Cyndi Lauper performed together.

Jay Ray:

They did, uh, lady Marmalade and was it true colors?

Sir Daniel:

I believe it's Truco.

Sir Daniel:

Yes.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

And, and time after time.

Sir Daniel:

Truco no time.

Sir Daniel:

You're right.

Sir Daniel:

Time after time, which was huge for Cyndi Lauper.

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Jay Ray:

'cause she was new.

Sir Daniel:

Huge.

Sir Daniel:

Yes, she's right out the box.

Sir Daniel:

She was brand.

Sir Daniel:

Well kind of new when you hear about Cindy's history.

Sir Daniel:

She had been, um, clawing her way to the top for a minute too.

Sir Daniel:

But this was a huge moment for Cyndi Lauper to.

Sir Daniel:

Kind of share her moment with an established older black, um, musician.

Sir Daniel:

And to, for Patti to get this, have this variety show and to open up her

Sir Daniel:

space to this up and coming ingenue.

Sir Daniel:

It was just one of those things where we, we still looked back to it on this

Sir Daniel:

day with affection because Patti, there's a part where they're sitting down,

Sir Daniel:

seeing time after time, and, you know.

Sir Daniel:

It's kind of a, um, a mammy moment where,

Jay Ray:

it

Sir Daniel:

where Cindy is, is, is nestled in Patti's bosom very, it's very mothering

Sir Daniel:

and it's very lovely and, you know, white people love that kind of stuff.

Sir Daniel:

So, you know, it was a moment, it was a moment for both of them, but it was great.

Sir Daniel:

They both like Patti, you could tell Patti was um, impressed that Cindy

Sir Daniel:

was hanging with her and Cindy was just having the time in her life.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

And so one of the things we talked about, uh, in that episode too,

Jay Ray:

is the fact that Patti is really introducing herself to Nate.

Jay Ray:

The, you know, the nation meanwhile, which is crazy, right?

Jay Ray:

'cause she's 21 years into her career, and literally Patti LaBelle is a star black.

Jay Ray:

Like black folks are like, that is Patti LaBelle, she's black famous, right?

Jay Ray:

But she's now introducing herself to this entirely new audience.

Jay Ray:

In 1985, she gets a special, but Sir Daniel, another amazing thing

Jay Ray:

happens at 85 and that's live aid.

Jay Ray:

Live Aid is this huge concert.

Jay Ray:

Um, Bob Geldoff, uh, in the uk, um, puts together this concert,

Jay Ray:

but it, it, it happens in the UK and then it happens in Philly.

Jay Ray:

So it's happening internationally at the exact same time.

Jay Ray:

Right.

Jay Ray:

So there are performances that are kind of running concurrent with

Jay Ray:

performance, you know, in both countries.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle is on the bill for live aid.

Jay Ray:

But Sir Daniel, I mentioned this to you when we were getting ready for this show.

Jay Ray:

I didn't know this because I was a kid and, and I didn't see it, right?

Jay Ray:

I don't even think it aired here.

Jay Ray:

I'm, we're about to play Patti LaBelle's intro in a minute.

Jay Ray:

I'm not sure if it aired in the US but, 'cause we're about

Jay Ray:

to watch a Portugal version.

Jay Ray:

But here's the dope thing about Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

So she's on the Philly show, which makes perfect sense.

Jay Ray:

The Philly show.

Jay Ray:

Okay.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle is one of the final acts to perform at the Philly show.

Jay Ray:

So here's who Patti LaBelle is coming before and this matters.

Jay Ray:

Okay.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle is getting a 30 minute set.

Jay Ray:

She has a 30 minute set.

Jay Ray:

That's a big, that's a long set in a thing like this.

Jay Ray:

She is coming before Halling Oates,

Sir Daniel:

Hmm.

Jay Ray:

Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, and then we are, the World happens.

Jay Ray:

So Patti LaBelle is one of the final five acts that hit the stage that day.

Jay Ray:

That's huge.

Sir Daniel:

That is huge.

Sir Daniel:

And I'm thinking and looking at the acts that she's, that she's lumped in with,

Sir Daniel:

they kind of are, are from the same era.

Sir Daniel:

Well, I know at least Mick Jagger is, and

Jay Ray:

And Tina Turner was there with Mick Jagger, by the way.

Sir Daniel:

See, you see what I'm saying?

Sir Daniel:

So I think it was done on purpose, which was very smart.

Sir Daniel:

But um, yeah, these benefit shows were huge in the mid eighties.

Sir Daniel:

Um, and they would often interrupt regular programming, schedule programming to

Sir Daniel:

bring these to you so that they could wear, raise awareness and raise money.

Sir Daniel:

People would call in.

Sir Daniel:

Kids, they were call in on 800 numbers and donate money live

Sir Daniel:

while these things were going on.

Sir Daniel:

So I'm interested.

Sir Daniel:

I, I can't wait.

Sir Daniel:

And if you are lucky enough to be in here while we're recording this, because

Sir Daniel:

we have an audience of, um, of our loyal, um, listeners and viewers that

Sir Daniel:

is getting to share this moment with us.

Sir Daniel:

You're not gonna be able to see this because, you know, we ain't trying

Sir Daniel:

to get flagged on YouTube, but we're about to watch this, um, LaBelle's

Sir Daniel:

introduction and the person that's, we're gonna talk about it, let's just

Jay Ray:

we gonna talk about it and then we gonna talk about it.

Jay Ray:

My God.

Sir Daniel:

Listen, I, first of all you, did you see this?

Sir Daniel:

It was a sea of people.

Jay Ray:

Yes,

Sir Daniel:

But the en, and she matched that energy.

Sir Daniel:

She came out there, out the gate on a on a hundred, Jamie.

Sir Daniel:

She was singing for the people that was in Philadelphia.

Sir Daniel:

She was singing for the people in Delaware.

Jay Ray:

yes.

Sir Daniel:

People in Delaware could hear her.

Sir Daniel:

That's crazy that, I mean, God.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

So.

Jay Ray:

There are so many things that you can parse through.

Jay Ray:

So for, uh, for folks, um, to watch this, we'll make sure that it's

Jay Ray:

in the description for this show.

Jay Ray:

But I think what's important to remember is one that's now a 42-year-old

Jay Ray:

The fact that she is commanding that stage and commanding that space.

Jay Ray:

This is for live aid who they're raising money for.

Jay Ray:

You know, folks in Africa, this is a big, big deal and I

Jay Ray:

love that they saw the power.

Jay Ray:

You have to know when you are booking her for that slot, what she's

Jay Ray:

going to give you, and they knew.

Sir Daniel:

Yep.

Sir Daniel:

'cause by that time you've had, the audience has sat, has sat through maybe

Sir Daniel:

what, five art, five groups already.

Sir Daniel:

And

Jay Ray:

Oh, way more.

Jay Ray:

No, they've been there since.

Jay Ray:

They've been there since 9:00 AM

Sir Daniel:

Oh Lord.

Sir Daniel:

So, and, and you saw that crowd.

Sir Daniel:

At that time of day, whoever is put on the stage has to shift the energy.

Sir Daniel:

I mean, you've gotta, you have to recycle it, you gotta shift

Sir Daniel:

it, you gotta reamp it up.

Sir Daniel:

And Patti LaBelle is the person that comes in and will do that.

Sir Daniel:

Who you think Patti Labelle or somebody?

Sir Daniel:

So I, she's literally an, she's, she's an energy, um, what's the word I want to use?

Sir Daniel:

An energy conduit.

Sir Daniel:

You know, there are people that you associate with energy.

Sir Daniel:

Tina, another mature doll, uh, Patti.

Sir Daniel:

There's people that cannot be contained on, especially when they're on stage.

Sir Daniel:

And we know for a fact that you do not.

Sir Daniel:

You do not.

Sir Daniel:

If you are in a, in a a, a, a, pass the mic situation, you do

Sir Daniel:

not pass the mic to Patti Label.

Jay Ray:

Because that, that happened and that that next year, you know, we

Jay Ray:

talked about this on one of those shows where, you know, of course Diana Ross.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

Diana Ross there at Motown, uh, went back to the Apollo and you

Jay Ray:

know, Diana Ross is there and, you know, giving a, can anybody help me?

Jay Ray:

And Pat,

Jay Ray:

you don't even have to ask.

Jay Ray:

She g And so that's the thing about Patti LaBelle.

Jay Ray:

You know that when you, you know that if you're giving Patti LaBelle the mic, she

Jay Ray:

is going to like burn the mic up and you not gonna be able to pick it back up.

Jay Ray:

So you have to be really strategic about where she sits.

Sir Daniel:

Yeah, and I think, again, harping on the fact that she's one of the

Sir Daniel:

mature dolls at this point in her career.

Sir Daniel:

One, she knows this is a second chance.

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Sir Daniel:

moment that I'm in front of a large audience, especially if I'm

Sir Daniel:

invited to be on a television special that's gonna be beamed into millions of

Sir Daniel:

people's homes, that mean that equates to sales, that equates to ticket sales.

Sir Daniel:

That equates to me having another leg in my career.

Sir Daniel:

So whenever I have the opportunity, I'm going to give it to you.

Sir Daniel:

I'm gonna give you a hundred percent and then she can't.

Sir Daniel:

That's and.

Sir Daniel:

When you're coming up in the, you know, in the, the chitlin circuit days, you

Sir Daniel:

know, coming up on the scene and you, you know, you went through talent

Sir Daniel:

shows to become, uh, to become known and to be, and to hone your craft.

Sir Daniel:

You are not half stepping.

Jay Ray:

Mm.

Sir Daniel:

There's nobody that's gonna out sing you.

Sir Daniel:

Those people, they, they lived, breathed, eat, performing, they rehearsed all

Sir Daniel:

the time so that when the time came.

Sir Daniel:

You are presented with an opportunity, you are giving it a hundred percent.

Sir Daniel:

So that's where she comes from.

Sir Daniel:

And so you're not going to, she's not going to give you less than a

Sir Daniel:

hundred percent, and to this day, she's still doing the same thing.

Jay Ray:

Yeah, man, like so.

Jay Ray:

If we think about this era, you know, Patti continues to

Jay Ray:

one hit the hit the pop charts.

Jay Ray:

Um, so of course we get the eternally iconic duet in 87

Jay Ray:

with uh, Michael McDonald on my.

Sir Daniel:

So many times,

Sir Daniel:

you know what?

Sir Daniel:

I just realized that they, both the, um, their, um, verses both start the same,

Sir Daniel:

same lyric, but the way that they both approach them is completely different.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel:

Hmm.

Jay Ray:

Yeah.

Jay Ray:

Um, and to that point, um, one of the things that you mentioned actually

Jay Ray:

as we were preparing for the show, and I think it's important, is that.

Jay Ray:

Um, on my own gets to show Patti wi in restraint, like she's

Jay Ray:

showing restraint in this song.

Jay Ray:

Um, because one of the things we loved about Patti Grow, I, well,

Jay Ray:

I'm gonna use a I statement.

Jay Ray:

I'm not sure Sir Daniel, but I remember Patti LaBelle used to do,

Jay Ray:

my God, somewhere over the rainbow.

Jay Ray:

She would tear all the award shows down, she would kick off a shoe.

Jay Ray:

Judy Garland could never, okay.

Sir Daniel:

Could never of her reto when people literally.

Sir Daniel:

They, if they, if she was gonna end the show and she didn't sing

Sir Daniel:

some Somewhere Over the Rainbow, people thought something was wrong.

Jay Ray:

like,

Jay Ray:

what's wrong with

Sir Daniel:

sure it was one of those moments where it was like,

Sir Daniel:

all right, goodnight, everybody.

Sir Daniel:

I, I can, I can't.

Sir Daniel:

And people

Jay Ray:

Sat way over the

Sir Daniel:

no, we want more.

Sir Daniel:

We want, really tired, but okay.

Sir Daniel:

Here we.

Jay Ray:

Yes.

Jay Ray:

And we go in.

Jay Ray:

Yeah, so I, on on my own is won a timeless classic, gave her another pop hit.

Jay Ray:

Michael McDonald is forever our dude, you know what I mean?

Jay Ray:

And Patti LaBelle got a chance to sing a little different, um, and

Jay Ray:

and this is a squarely a pop song?

Sir Daniel:

Squarely a pop song.

Sir Daniel:

Squarely a, um, a, a a a yacht rock.

Jay Ray:

Song, yes.

Jay Ray:

Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel:

she's, she's, she's checking off all the boxes.

Jay Ray:

and So we round out the decade.

Jay Ray:

Patti LaBelle's incredibly successful, uh, 1980s especially that that

Jay Ray:

back half of the, the decade with, if you ask me to, which, um, was

Jay Ray:

for the soundtrack to James Bond's License to Kill, which is super dope.

Sir Daniel:

You know, Pat's not the only, Pat's, wasn't the only mature

Sir Daniel:

doll to have a James Bond song.

Jay Ray:

No

Sir Daniel:

Gladys Knight had one,

Jay Ray:

Tina Turner,

Sir Daniel:

the mature, see the mature dolls.

Sir Daniel:

We, we had a good in the eighties, Jay Ray, and you know what?

Jay Ray:

Did.

Sir Daniel:

We really did.

Sir Daniel:

And I think the fact that we got that version of them, we got that

Sir Daniel:

version of the pointer sisters, we got the mature, um, Donna

Sir Daniel:

Summer, we got the, um, who else?

Sir Daniel:

Gladys, we got those mature Diana.

Jay Ray:

Diana Ross, um, all of

Sir Daniel:

mature doll versions and they, and that was when they were

Sir Daniel:

at the height of their superpowers.

Jay Ray:

Absolutely.

Sir Daniel:

So, uh, I think one of the things we could take away from this

Sir Daniel:

conversation is that we know that, um, especially nowadays, everybody has a

Sir Daniel:

shelf life, particularly female artists.

Sir Daniel:

And if the, and we've nowadays, sex is such a crutch that is heavily

Sir Daniel:

relied on that once you get to a certain age, you're deemed not.

Sir Daniel:

Viable.

Sir Daniel:

You're deemed not a moneymaker anymore, but we had a magical time in

Sir Daniel:

the eighties where the mature dolls came out and they raked in the dough.

Sir Daniel:

They cre, they gave us classics and they became iconic.

Jay Ray:

Yes, absolutely.

Jay Ray:

So shout out to the Patti LaBelle, who as of the taping of this is still on

Jay Ray:

tour with Stephanie Mills and Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan, um, tearing

Jay Ray:

down houses all over the world.

Jay Ray:

Um, but yeah, um, we are happy to celebrate Pat's iconic, uh, pop.

Jay Ray:

Culture breakthrough.

Jay Ray:

Um, and thank y'all for hanging out with us as always on Queue Points.

Jay Ray:

If you can see our faces and hear our voices, go ahead

Jay Ray:

and subscribe to the show.

Jay Ray:

Tell your friends, tell your family colleagues, anybody you think would

Jay Ray:

like cue points, because if you love it, chances are they will love it too.

Jay Ray:

Visit our website at queuepoints.com where you can listen to the

Jay Ray:

entire archive of episodes of the show and there is a lot to see.

Jay Ray:

We are live every single solitary Thursday.

Jay Ray:

Most times at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Jay Ray:

So you can tune in, um, on YouTube, on Facebook, on our substack,

Jay Ray:

which is where you should be to get all the extra stuff for Queue

Jay Ray:

Points, um, and on Instagram too.

Jay Ray:

Um, and once again, uh, shop our store.

Jay Ray:

Uh, keep the lights on here at Queue Points.

Jay Ray:

So if you visit store dot Queue Points.com, you can buy merch, you

Jay Ray:

can buy all types of other stuff.

Jay Ray:

We appreciate y'all.

Jay Ray:

We love y'all.

Sir Daniel:

Thank you once again, and like I always say in this

Sir Daniel:

life you have an opportunity.

Sir Daniel:

You can either pick up the needle or you could let the record play.

Sir Daniel:

I'm DJ Sir Daniel.

Jay Ray:

And my name is Jay Ray.

Sir Daniel:

And this is Queue Points podcast, dropping the

Sir Daniel:

needle on black music history.

Sir Daniel:

We will see you on the next go round.

Sir Daniel:

[Singing]*Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Ohhhh*

Jay Ray:

[Singing]*I got a new attitude.* Peace y'all.

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