Certainly, many artists of the music scene would like to know the recipe for creating a great hit. A rhythmic melody and easy-to-remember lyrics are some of the key elements. However, it takes much more for a song to become a hit. It is important that the words sung come straight from the heart. But it’s hard when you’re singing in a foreign language. The musical trio LaBelle found out about the importance of being aware of the text.
They sang “Lady Marmalade” and caused a storm. LaBelle singers were not prepared for such a reaction
“Lady Marmalade” is the result of a joint composition by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. The song was inspired by the night life of the inhabitants of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans. The first band to work in the studio on a song was the then popular disco group The Eleventh Hour. Unfortunately, their performance did not captivate the audience. Crewe didn’t want a song that could easily become a hit go unnoticed. He then proposed to music producer Allen Tousaint that Patti Labelle and his band, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, take over the performance.
The effects of work in the studio exceeded the wildest expectations of the creators, which is why the decision was made to put the song on Labelle’s upcoming album, “Nighbirds”. It turned out to be a great idea. The song “Lady Marmalade” debuted on the market in 1975 and immediately began to conquer the charts, becoming a real hit in a short time, as expected.
Unfortunately, the reaction the singers had to face was not what they expected. Although the popularity of the song grew stronger and was number one on the radio, “Lady Marmalade” received bad reviews, in which the singers were accused of vulgarity. Due to the negative overtones, some of the stations decided to remove the song from their lists.
The reason for the scandal was one sentence. None of the singers knew the translation of the song
It soon turned out that the reason for the ubiquitous scandal was a short sentence that today would certainly go unnoticed, and certainly would not cause such a media storm. Of course, we are talking about a line written in French: “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”, which literally translates to “would you like to spend the night with me?”. The question seems completely innocent, but in the 1970s even seemingly trivial things caused controversy and social outrage.
As it turned out later, none of LaBelle’s singers spoke French and did not know what the words meant. They were convinced that they were singing about an ordinary girl, and not, as the context of the song implied, about a woman who provided sex services. Years later, they admitted it was their mistake. If they had known the translation earlier, they could have avoided a scandal and many unflattering opinions. “We were really sure we were singing about a girl just walking down the street, nothing more. (…) We weren’t aware that it was a song about escort Patti Labelle during an interview with The Guardian.
Although the “Lady Marmalade” scandal required singers to face harsh criticism, they soon began to see the positives associated with the scandal. They saw it as a chance to break taboos and to start a public debate on prostitution. According to the artists, as long as the work performed is not a compulsion, but a personal choice, there is nothing wrong with it and sex workers should not be discriminated against. “It would be discrimination, similar to racism or homophobia. I don’t believe in dividing people. If your job is to be a whore, then be strong and do your job, convincing Patti Labelle to NME magazine.
The song became an inspiration for other musicians. The controversial sentence was heard during the Grammys gala
Despite the passage of years, the song “Lady Marmalade” enjoyed unflagging popularity. With the increase of social awareness, the artists stopped pointing out the opinion for which they were severely criticized years ago. Other foreign artists began to be inspired by the piece, creating their own interpretations. The cover of the song was performed by, for example, the Italian singer Sabrina, famous for its controversial lyrics, or the popular British band All Saints.
In 2001, the song was recalled by a director who included it in his musical. However, this performance of the LaBelle group was not known to everyone. He invited some of the greatest representatives of pop music in the world to work on the new version of the song. Three artists met in the studio: Lil’ Kim, Mya and P!nk, who together created a contemporary “Lady Marmalade”, which Patti Labele herself liked. The once controversial words “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce sori?” even resounded at the Grammy Awards in 2002. On stage, the song was performed by the legendary diva, Patti LaBelle, together with the creators of the cult remake.
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Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
