As living legends go, Patti LaBelle has to be among the best.
Along with the usual list of pop and R&B icons like Aretha, Cher and Diana, LaBelle provided one of the original blueprints for damn-near every diva who has come after her looking to parlay their singing skills into greater super-stardom.
Her voice has been a force of nature since the late 1960s. And really, can any of you keep your rump from shaking when “Lady Marmalade” plays anywhere?
She pushed the envelope in the 1970s and ’80s when it came to wild onstage clothing, both as a member of LaBelle and as a solo act. She’s also found time throughout the decades to write her autobiography and a number of successful cookbooks. (Yeah, let’s see Beyoncé or Katy Perry try to make macaroni and cheese or potato salad from scratch.)
If that wasn’t enough, she is an accomplished actor as well, appearing in movies, television shows (“Different World,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “American Horror Story”) and on Broadway (“Fela!”). She also recently competed on the latest season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
While on break between “Stars” and preparations for her upcoming summer tour, which will find her performing in her hometown of Philadelphia July 9, LaBelle talked to PGN about her multi-faceted career and what the future holds for her.
PGN: With so many hits to your credit, is it difficult to choose which ones to do when you perform in concert?
PL: I don’t have that many hits. I would say it’s about 10 songs that I might consider hits. There’s always going to be “New Attitude,” “Lady Marmalade,” “If You Only Knew,” “If You Asked Me To” and maybe five more. But it’s never hard. Sometimes if I want to do most of them, I’ll do them in medley form so I’ll have time to do other songs. So it’s never a hard choice.
PGN: Which of your songs would you say is the most challenging to sing?
PL: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is the most satisfying song that I sing. The most challenging song I sing is “If You Love Me” by Edith Piaf that I did on a live album many years ago. It’s a crazy song and I’ve done it in my shows recently.
PGN: You have one of the all-time great and influential voices in music. Do you see your influences in any of the newer singers out today?
PL: Ledisi told me that she feels that way about my voice. If you mean little girls that remind me of me, Ledisi, Fantasia and Leela James are the ones I can think of.
PGN: Besides your voice, you are also known for the wild clothes you used to wear on stage. Do you consider yourself a fashion icon?
PL: I love clothes. I love shoes, purses and beautiful gowns. Yeah, I would consider myself an icon. I love to dress. I will never, ever top those outrageous costumes. I stay as close to sane as possible. At 71, if I wore one of those outfits people would think I snapped. So I wouldn’t go there. I can’t compete with those back-in-the-day outfits.
PGN: Back in the 1970s and ’80s, singers would routinely tour with comedians instead of other musicians. You toured with Richard Pryor. Why did singers and comedians stop touring together?
PL: I don’t know why they stopped doing that. It certainly worked with Richard Pryor and myself. Arsenio Hall would open my shows in different cities. But it doesn’t happen much anymore.
PGN: Does it bother you that there are so-called singers packing theaters and arenas these days who aren’t singing live?
PL: Yes, it bothers me, of course, but if that’s the way they can make it, God bless them. But it is such a cheat to the audience. But sometimes the audience doesn’t care. They could put a stop to it; if they realized if they were singing to trash — I mean to tracks — and didn’t complain, it would continue to go on and on. If I was in the audience, I would complain and shut it down. But they get away with it.
PGN: You’ve also had a long and successful acting career. When you first started acting, did you take to it quickly or was there a learning curve?
PL: Acting is very hard. It’s hurry up and wait. You wait all day for a scene and then that scene comes and you have to do it 50 times in a row. You ask yourself, Why did I say yes to acting? My life, my love and living will be singing. Acting is beautiful but it is very hard and demanding.
PGN: You’ve done theater, movies and television, and you’ve done comedy, drama and horror. Do you have a preference when it comes to the acting roles that you take?
PL: I love dramas, but never a lovemaking scene. Never anything like that.
PGN: How did you enjoy being on “Dancing with the Stars?”
PL: I loved it. I just spoke to Rumer [Willis] and knew when I first met her that she was a star and she was going to win. I was there for eight weeks with rehearsals and I loved everybody there. I loved my partner. That’s an experience that I’m happy I said yes to.
PGN: Are you currently working on any new music?
PL: I have a CD that will be released hopefully soon. There’s no title yet, but it’s done. It’s old standards and jazz music, just music that I love to sing. Hopefully you will hear it this year.
PGN: A few years ago you did a LaBelle reunion album and tour. Do you think that is something you would like to revisit in the future?
PL: We spoke three days ago. We’re talking about touring and working again. We’re very close and we know it’s necessary.
PGN: Do you still get approached by artists and producers for dance-oriented recording projects?
PL: That’s definitely my next project: a dance album, very high-energy. I will be doing that.
Patti LaBelle performs 7 p.m. July 9 at Dell Music Center, 2400 Strawberry Mansion Dr. For more information or tickets, call 215-685-9566 or visit www.pattilabelle.com.