Posted on Apr 24, 2018
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Billboard Hot 100 on this day in 1962. In a move that was far from unprecedented at this time—the same thing happened with The Crystals’ “He’s A Rebel” (1961), for instance—Patti and her cohorts were credited with a hit record they had nothing to do with creating.
Patti LaBelle was still going by her given name, Patricia Holte, when she first teamed up in 1961 with fellow Philadelphians Cindy Birdsong (a future Supreme), Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash to form a group called the Ordettes. In the meantime, a Chicago group called the Starlets was touring with the likes of Jackie Wilson and the Spinners on the strength of a minor hit called “Better Tell Him No.” While visiting Philadelphia, the Starlets somehow found themselves in a recording studio located on a used-car lot operated by a salesman named Harold Robinson. Among the tracks Robinson had the Starlets record that day was the Leon René song “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman.” While the details of what followed remain murky, the upshot was that while the Starlets went on about their business elsewhere, Newton Records released “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman” in early 1962 under the new name of the former Ordettes: the Blue Belles. After entering the pop charts on this day in 1962, the record went on to peak at #15 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Billboard Lady Marmalade.
Patti LaBelle was still going by her given name, Patricia Holte, when she first teamed up in 1961 with fellow Philadelphians Cindy Birdsong (a future Supreme), Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash to form a group called the Ordettes. In the meantime, a Chicago group called the Starlets was touring with the likes of Jackie Wilson and the Spinners on the strength of a minor hit called “Better Tell Him No.” While visiting Philadelphia, the Starlets somehow found themselves in a recording studio located on a used-car lot operated by a salesman named Harold Robinson. Among the tracks Robinson had the Starlets record that day was the Leon René song “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman.” While the details of what followed remain murky, the upshot was that while the Starlets went on about their business elsewhere, Newton Records released “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman” in early 1962 under the new name of the former Ordettes: the Blue Belles. After entering the pop charts on this day in 1962, the record went on to peak at #15 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Billboard Lady Marmalade.
Patti LaBelle makes her debut on the pop charts, sort of - Apr 24, 1962 - HISTORY.com
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Patti Labelle & The Bluebells - I Sold My Heart To The Junkman
Patricia Louise Holte (Patti Labelle) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 24, 1944. Her father, Henry Holte was a railroad worker and lounge singe...
Thank you TSgt Joe C. for reminding us that on April 24, 1962 Patti LaBelle who was still going by her given name, Patricia Holte, had her first song to make it on the popular music charts “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman” sung by the former Ordettes: the Blue Belles.
She had teamed with fellow Philadelphians Cindy Birdsong (a future Supreme), Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash to form a group called the Ordettes.
"Patricia Louise Holte (Patti Labelle) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 24, 1944. Her father, Henry Holte was a railroad worker and lounge singer. Her mother, Bertha Holte, was a domestic and housewife. Patti was one of four daughters (Vivian, Barbara, herself and Jacqueline). She recalls having a happy childhood but said her parents had an unhappy marriage. When she was twelve, her parents split up and Bertha Holte raised her daughters as a single mother. Her mother later adopted Claudette Grant, who would become one of Patricia's closest friends.
Despite her shyness, she was known for her gifted voice even as a child. After first joining her church choir at ten, she sang her first solo at the Beulah Baptist Church at the age of twelve. Growing up, Holte listened not only to gospel, but jazz and rhythm and blues. By her teens, "Patsy", as friends and family called her, also began listening to doo-wop and was encouraged to form a girl group in the late fifties. In 1958, she formed The Ordettes with three other friends. The following year, when two members of the group dropped out, singers Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, from a former rival group, joined them. Eventually with Cindy Birdsong included in the lineup by 1961 and with respected music impresario Bernard Montague managing them, the group gained a reputation around Philadelphia and soon caught the eye of a record scout, who introduced them to Newtown Records president Harold Robinson.
After hearing Holte's voice during an audition, Robinson, who nearly ditched the group due to their looks — he allegedly thought Holte was "too plain and dark" to lead a singing group - agreed to sign the group, renaming them The Blue Belles (the name would simply be "The Bluebelles" by the mid‑1960s), after a Newtown subsidiary label.
Not long after that, the group made a hit single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", though the song was recorded by another girl group, the Chicago-based The Starlets. This led to a. lawsuit by a manager of the group and its record label boss, later resulting in the group winning $5,000 in damages. "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" eventually reached the Billboard' top 20. Despite this credited success, the group could not follow up with any other hit. The Blue Belles supported themselves by constantly touring including an appearance at the Apollo Theater.
In 1963 a record label executive sued Harold Robinson for use of the name "Blue Belles", since another group was using the name. As a result, Robinson gave Holte the nickname, Patti La Belle (La Belle is French for "the beautiful one") and the group's name was altered to "Patti La Belle and Her Blue Belles". A year later, the group left Newtown switching over to Cameo-Parkway Records."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpmV4JEsAPo
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
She had teamed with fellow Philadelphians Cindy Birdsong (a future Supreme), Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash to form a group called the Ordettes.
"Patricia Louise Holte (Patti Labelle) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 24, 1944. Her father, Henry Holte was a railroad worker and lounge singer. Her mother, Bertha Holte, was a domestic and housewife. Patti was one of four daughters (Vivian, Barbara, herself and Jacqueline). She recalls having a happy childhood but said her parents had an unhappy marriage. When she was twelve, her parents split up and Bertha Holte raised her daughters as a single mother. Her mother later adopted Claudette Grant, who would become one of Patricia's closest friends.
Despite her shyness, she was known for her gifted voice even as a child. After first joining her church choir at ten, she sang her first solo at the Beulah Baptist Church at the age of twelve. Growing up, Holte listened not only to gospel, but jazz and rhythm and blues. By her teens, "Patsy", as friends and family called her, also began listening to doo-wop and was encouraged to form a girl group in the late fifties. In 1958, she formed The Ordettes with three other friends. The following year, when two members of the group dropped out, singers Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, from a former rival group, joined them. Eventually with Cindy Birdsong included in the lineup by 1961 and with respected music impresario Bernard Montague managing them, the group gained a reputation around Philadelphia and soon caught the eye of a record scout, who introduced them to Newtown Records president Harold Robinson.
After hearing Holte's voice during an audition, Robinson, who nearly ditched the group due to their looks — he allegedly thought Holte was "too plain and dark" to lead a singing group - agreed to sign the group, renaming them The Blue Belles (the name would simply be "The Bluebelles" by the mid‑1960s), after a Newtown subsidiary label.
Not long after that, the group made a hit single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", though the song was recorded by another girl group, the Chicago-based The Starlets. This led to a. lawsuit by a manager of the group and its record label boss, later resulting in the group winning $5,000 in damages. "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" eventually reached the Billboard' top 20. Despite this credited success, the group could not follow up with any other hit. The Blue Belles supported themselves by constantly touring including an appearance at the Apollo Theater.
In 1963 a record label executive sued Harold Robinson for use of the name "Blue Belles", since another group was using the name. As a result, Robinson gave Holte the nickname, Patti La Belle (La Belle is French for "the beautiful one") and the group's name was altered to "Patti La Belle and Her Blue Belles". A year later, the group left Newtown switching over to Cameo-Parkway Records."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpmV4JEsAPo
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
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SGT Brian Nile SGT Robert George SFC Shirley Whitfield MSG Mark Million Christine C Cullinan COL Lee Flemming SFC George Smith SrA Christopher Wright LTC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell PO1 Tony Holland SGT (Join to see) Alan K. SPC Mike Lake SFC Anthony Beck Sgt Trevor Barrett LTC Greg Henning
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