Boston Herald Patti LaBelle needs no introduction. The r & b singer and original diva was a girl group leader (of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles) before girl groups became a trend, became a successful solo artist in her own right and now, more than four decades since her career began, is signed to Def Jam Records.
Tonight, the Philadelphia native performs a free, city of Boston-sponsored concert at the Citi Wang Theatre in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Sorry, the tickets are long gone, snapped up as soon as they were made available.
Late yesterday afternoon, we talked with the indomitable songstress about racism in the music industry, the relevance of Dr. King’s message today and becoming a girl group leader once again
Herald: Being a black female in the industry, how has that been for you? LaBelle: From what I see in this business, the way I view things, when I do them, less money is offered to me than they would offer a Barbra Streisand or a Bette Midler or a Madonna or somebody like that. And I’m saying maybe because I am a black woman, maybe my record company doesn’t take me seriously, and (they think) its gonna be hard to sell this black woman’s music so we’re not gonna try. I don’t know what the reasons are. I just know that there’s racism, period. But so be it. I’m still Patti LaBelle.
You came up in the ’60s. How has racism changed from your perspective? Has it improved or just become more subtle? I think it’s the same, sweetie. I mean, I get so many perks and so many different things when I go out, because I’m Patti LaBelle. If I was not Patti LaBelle, just Louise Edwards, I think it would be a mess. But you know what? We’re not gonna change that right now. We can’t. So I live with it.
What do you think is the relevance of Dr. King’s message today? Oh, God. He would still be preaching. Well, he’s gone now. But nothing much has changed. All of the positive that he was about, all of the things that he meant for us to be as one, there’s still separation. So it’s fallen on deaf ears as far as I’m concerned.
Do you think that music can be a force in changing that? I always hope it can. Like with certain songs like “Waiting on the World to Change” by ... I can’t think of his name John Mayer.
Yes, yes. You know, he’s waiting on the world to change and so am I. How long will we wait? We don’t know. It’s just good to put those kind of songs out, and let somebody listen and think, God, he’s saying a whole lot that we should actually live by, try to live by.
Is it true that LaBelle is re-forming and that Lenny Kravitz is involved?
Yes, we’re in the recording process. We’ve been talking about touring at the end of this year or before the end of this year. It’s (a challenge) because I have so many other projects that I’m working on, and with LaBelle in the mix now, to do it right. When I do it, I have to do it right.
You’ve earned a lot of respect in the industry, but maybe not the success in terms of record sales or awards. Does that bother you? I haven’t had that, but you know what? I don’t care I get love and respect from the public. Even if I never get all those awards or never sell all those records, at 63, do you think I care? It doesn’t matter. I’m still me. You can’t stop that. I’m a force to be reckoned with, honey.
