Patti LaBelle Reveals She Is Working on First R&B Album in 20 Years
Patti LaBelle Reveals She Is Working on First R&B Album in 20 Years
LONDON — Legendary soul songstress Patti LaBelle has announced she is recording her first R&B studio album in two decades, promising fans a collection of what she describes as "age-appropriate" music.
The 82-year-old Grammy winner, affectionately known as the "Godmother of Soul", revealed that she has spent the past year quietly working on the unreleased project, which she hopes to release to the public "sooner than later".
The upcoming album will mark LaBelle’s first major R&B release since her 2005 critically acclaimed record Classic Moments. While she has remained a mainstay of live performance and released a jazz album, Bel Hommage, in 2017, the star admitted she has missed the process of crafting a definitive R&B record.
Speaking ahead of a major headline performance in New York, LaBelle said:
"I have not done an album in 20 years. I’ve been working on that for the last, actually, the last year. So that’s what I want, to finish and get it out to you guys soon."
Ensuring the material reflects her current stage in life is a key priority for the iconic vocalist, whose career spans more than six decades from her early days with Labelle and the timeless anthem 'Lady Marmalade'.
"Well, I hope at 82 that I do age-appropriate music," she stated. "I can’t do a young girl song, you know? It has to go with who I am. And that’s very important to me to make sure that I don’t try to do something that I’m not. It’s always gonna be something that I really feel represents Patti LaBelle."
Beyond her studio comeback, LaBelle has kept remarkably busy building a multi-million-pound lifestyle empire, which includes her wildly popular "Patti’s Good Life" culinary range, alongside various television, film, and Broadway appearances.
Reflecting on her enduring status in the industry, LaBelle welcomed the "legend" moniker with gratitude. "How does it feel to be labelled a legend? It feels wonderful," she said. "I don’t take anything for granted. Legend, I’ll take it, because I’ve been doing it for so many years... I take that as a great compliment."
No official release date or track list has yet been confirmed, but industry insiders expect the record to drop before the end of the year.
