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Ora Denise Allen (July 16, 1934 – January 8, 2018), known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
singer, songwriter, and
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
who, since the death of
Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known f ...
, had been recognized as the "Queen of the Blues". Her best known songs were " Trapped by a Thing Called Love" and "Down Home Blues".


Early life

LaSalle, the youngest of eight children, was born Ora Denise Allen on July 16, 1934, near Sidon, Mississippi in an area then known as The Island, to Nathaniel A. Allen Sr. and Nancy Cooper. Her family worked as sharecroppers, and she had to pick cotton and take up other paid labor to support her family. She was raised in Belzoni from age seven and sang in church choirs for local
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
groups around Leflore County. At age 13, she moved to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
to live with her oldest brother.


Career

She sat in with R&B musicians and wrote songs, influenced by
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
as well as the blues. Around 1963, while she was working as barmaid at the Mix's Lounge, she met Billy "The Kid" Emerson, who at that time was working for Chess Records. This resulted in a one year recording contract with Chess; however, no recording sessions were done. Later on Emerson started his own label, Tarpon, and in 1967 he recorded LaSalle on his label. The single, "A Love Reputation", was a modest regional hit. She established an independent production company, Crajon, with her then husband Bill Jones. Her song " Trapped By a Thing Called Love" (1971) was released on
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
-based
Westbound Records Westbound Records was a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1968. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switch ...
. This reached #1 on the national R&B chart and #13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song ranked at #85 on the 1971 year-end chart. A RIAA
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
award was made on November 30, 1971 for a million sales. Reviewing her 1972 debut album of the same name, Robert Christgau wrote in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): "LaSalle seems to be a songwriter first and a singer second, which may be why there's a certain professional anonymity about her unusual moods. But the voice is there—sensual, warm, even wise, ideal for roducer Willie Mitchell's meditative Memphis funk. And because she's a pretty good songwriter, just about every one of these twelve tracks offers its professional pleasures." She also wrote successful follow-ups, "Now Run and Tell That" and "Man Sized Job", which made #3 and number 4 in the R&B top ten and also charted in the Hot 100. Her early hits were recorded at the Hi recording studios in
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
, operated by Mitchell, using the best southern session players. She continued to have hits and made three albums on the Westbound label. At 1976 she moved to
Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census. Jackson ...
and signed a contract with ABC Records. On ABC she had another hit, "Love Me Right" (#10 R&B, #80 pop). ABC was taken over by MCA, and LaSalle made three albums for MCA. She also continued to perform live and to produce. Her co-penned song "Married, But Not to Each Other" was included on the 1979 compilation album ''
The Best of Barbara Mandrell ''The Best of Barbara Mandrell'' is a compilation album by American country music singer, Barbara Mandrell, released in January 1979. ''The Best of Barbara Mandrell'' covered most of Mandrell's biggest hits from the mid- to late 1970s. It include ...
''. In 1982 LaSalle signed as songwriter for the Malaco label, where she wrote songs for Z.Z. Hill among others.Jefferson Magazine no 135 http://www.jeffersonbluesmag.com She was then persuaded to also record herself; this resulted in the album ''Lady in the Street'' in 1983. She continued to record for Malaco for 15 years, and released a string of critically acclaimed albums, starting with ''Lady in the Street'' (1983) and ''Right Place, Right Time'' (1984). Her R&B,
soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...
, and soul songs were played on
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
radio stations in southern states. In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
when her
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Rockin' Sidney Sidney Simien (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998), known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his ...
's "
My Toot Toot "My Toot Toot" also popularly known as "Don't Mess with My Toot Toot" or "(Don't Mess with) My Toot Toot" is a song written by Sidney Simien and performed by him under his stage name Rockin' Sidney. Simien wrote the song and released it on the M ...
" reached #6. She appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the
Long Beach Blues Festival The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, United States, was established in full in 1980, and was one of the largest blues festivals and was the second oldest on the West Coast (first being the San Francisco Blues Festival). It ...
. In 1993, she also performed at the
San Francisco Blues Festival The San Francisco Blues Festival was active from 1973 until 2008, and was located in San Francisco, California. It was the one of the longest running blues festival in the United States. History Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the ...
. Her album, ''Smokin' in Bed'' (1997), sold well. LaSalle has in interviews stated that during the Westbound and ABC/MCA years she was free to record any song she liked, but at Malaco she was more limited. Malaco was a blues label, and wanted her to record mainly 'hard blues'. After the Malaco years, LaSalle started her own label Ordena, and released a few albums, including ''God's Got My Back'' which is a gospel album, and ''This Real Woman'' (2-CD set) which is a mixture of everything, it includes country, R&B, blues and pop. In 2002 LaSalle was again recording for a new label, this time for Ecko Records, a small Memphis-based soul-blues label, the first album was ''Still the Queen''. After more than a decade away, she returned to Malaco to release an album in 2010, titled ''24 Hour Woman''. In 2011, she was inducted into the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...
. LaSalle lived with her husband, James E. Wolfe, in Jackson, where she opened a restaurant called Blues Legend Café. The restaurant was located at 436 E. Main Street, but has since closed.


Personal life and death

LaSalle married Artic Craig, a co-worker of her brother A.J. at
Campbell Soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
, in 1956 when she was 22. LaSalle and Craig were only together a short time, but didn't formally end the marriage until right before she married her second husbad, Bill Jones, in 1969. She and Jones divorced in 1974. Both of them collaborated in producing records, and they established an independent production company, Crajon Records. In 1977, she married James E. "Super Wolfe" Wolfe Jr. He was a disc jockey, ran several radio stations, became a preacher, and passed away in 2022. LaSalle had two children. After suffering from heart problems, and with complications from a fall having resulted in her right leg being amputated in October 2017, LaSalle died surrounded by her family, at the age of 83, on January 8, 2018.


Legacy

In 2009, LaSalle was honored with a marker on the
Mississippi Blues Trail The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) ...
in Belzoni. In 2013 and 2014, LaSalle was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Soul Blues Female Artist' category. On June 6, 2015, LaSalle was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.


Discography


Albums


Studio and live albums


Compilation albums

* 1973: ''Doin' It Right'' * 1985: ''My Toot Toot'' * 1989: ''Holdin' Hands with the Blues'' * 2001: ''I Get What I Want: Best of the ABC/MCA Years'' * 2003: ''My Toot Toot: The Definitive Anthology''


Singles


References


External links

*
Allmusic.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasalle, Denise 1934 births 2018 deaths 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers Singers from Mississippi American mezzo-sopranos Songwriters from Mississippi Record producers from Mississippi Soul-blues musicians People from Sidon, Mississippi People from Belzoni, Mississippi People from Jackson, Tennessee Businesspeople from Tennessee Chess Records artists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers American women record producers Malaco Records artists Mississippi Blues Trail 20th-century American businesspeople