SARAH DASH (1945 - 2021)

Sarah Dash, one third of the soul-funk group, Labelle before venturing out as a solo artist, has sadly passed away on September 20th at the age of seventy-six. No cause of death has been revealed to date.

Born in Trenton, NJ (and one of thirteen children), Dash began singing in church where her father was a pastor. After moving to Philadelphia as a teen, she started to sing soul and doo-wop when she joined a local girl-group, The Ordettes with Sundray Tucker, Nona Hendryx and Patricia Holte. Tucker left the group and Cindy Birdsong replaced her with the act changing their name to The Blue Belles in 1962. The group went through another change after their management decided for lead singer, Holte to be renamed "Patti LaBelle", with the quartet becoming Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. The group had a few minor pop and r&b hits with "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", "Down the Aisle" and covers of "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Danny Boy" and "Over the Rainbow".

After Birdsong went off to join the Supremes in 1967, the remaining members struggled before changing management (to English talent manager, Vicki Wickham), musical direction and their name to "LaBelle" in 1971. The group would become best known for their socially conscious songs and soulful renditions of rock songs by Cat Stevens, The Who and working with singer/songwriter, Laura Nyro on an album. While LaBelle enjoyed critical acclaim, they still failed to achieve commercial success until their 1974 album, "Nightbirds". The record featured the single, "Lady Marmalade" (produced by Allen Toussaint and Wickham) about a New Orleans sex worker that would become the group's biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Soul charts. LaBelle's subsequent albums did not receive much attention and after creative disagreements on material, the trio decided to go their separate ways in 1977.

During her time with Labelle, Dash had begun to sing more lead vocals and co-write songs. She released her self-titled debut album in 1978 and had a top-ten disco hit with "Sinner Man" with Dash later finding popularity in dance music. After developing a friendship with Keith Richards while Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles opened for his band, The Rolling Stones in the early 1960s, he asked her to tour with him and his side band, X-pensive Winos in 1988 and provide backing vocals on the Stones' 1989, "Steel Wheels" album. And after the occasional musical reunion over the years, LaBelle finally released another album, "Back To Now" in 2008, thirty-two years after their last recording.

WELCOME BACK

DARLENE LOVE

The voice of Darlene Love is one of the most recognizable in the rock & roll era. She can be heard on some of most popular songs ever recorded and this was revealed in the Oscar-winning documentary, "20 Feet From Stardom" which put a long overdue spotlight on the singer. Producer Phil Spector (who Love is most closely associated) recognized her amazing gifts and used them frequently on much of his now classic work throughout the 1960's.

Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band also recognized her great talent. He had encouraged Love to try New York when she was attempting a comeback in the early '80's after falling in to obscurity during the late '70's. This move lead to her joining the Broadway jukebox musical, "Leader of The Pack" and revitalizing her career. Now, Van Zandt is back lending a helping hand. He has produced Love's first studio album in thirty years and it's appropriately titled "Introducing Darlene Love". This wonderful collection puts the seventy-four year old singer front and center after spending most of her career performing background vocals for other singers. The songs range from pop, rock, gospel and Phil Spector. Love does a cover of "River Deep, Mountain High", a song she provided back-up on the original Spector production performed by Tina Turner.

Take a look at this cute video for the first single, "Forbidden Nights". It features cameos by some of the rock legends that contributed songs for the new album including Joan Jett, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen. Be on the lookout for a few other famous faces here:



KEITH RICHARDS

Keith Richards has spent over fifty years as a member of "the greatest rock & roll band on Earth", The Rolling Stones. Although he would perform the occasional lead vocal on tracks throughout the years on Stones albums, the focus for Richards was songwriting and playing guitar while leaving the rock-star stuff to Mick Jagger.

It wasn't until a tense falling out with Jagger in 1986 over putting his solo career ahead of the Stones that he decided to work on his own music. Richards formed a band, the X-Pensive Winos and released his critically acclaimed solo debut, "Talk Is Cheap" in 1988 which he co-wrote and produced with Steve Jordan. These two long-time friends obviously kissed and made up as the Rolling Stones continue to rock this very day. But now, twenty-three years after his second album, "Main Offender", Richards has just released another solo recording, "Crosseyed Heart" before the Stones hit the road next year. The seventy-one year old, back with his band and co-producer Jordan, isn't worried about commercial appeal. He's covering music that he loves like country, reggae and the blues that you won't hear often on your average Rolling Stones record.

Rumor has it that Richards may try to squeeze in a few concert dates this year to promote the album so be on the lookout. In the meantime, listen to one of the highlights from the album. It's a blues ballad that Richards performs as a scorching duet with another singer we haven't heard from in quite a while; Norah Jones:

"Illusion" - Keith Richards & Norah Jones (2015) mp3