Sarah Dash, who was a member of Labelle with Patti LaBelle and provided her voice to the hit “Lady Marmalade,” has died. She was 76.
Dash, according to Variety, also provided some sweet vocal notes to other performers’ recordings or live concerts. Her publicist confirmed her death to Variety.
LaBelle, who was the founding member of Labelle, paid tribute to Sarah Dash on Instagram.
“We were just on-stage together on Saturday and it was such a powerful and special moment!” Patti LaBelle wrote. “#SarahDash was an awesomely talented, beautiful, and loving soul who blessed my life and the lives of so many others in more ways than I can say. And I could always count on her to have my back! That’s who Sarah was…a loyal friend and a voice for those who didn’t have one. She was a true giver…always serving, always sharing her talent and her time.”
Sarah Dash Also Would Perform With Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett
Sarah Dash also performed with the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Alice Cooper, Wilson Pickett, Laura Nyro, and many others.
Her solo career featured songs like “Sinner Man” and “Low Down Dirty Rhythm.”
Sarah Dash was born and raised in Trenton, N.J. She got her singing start, not unlike other R&B female singers, sharing her voice in the church with gospel music. Her father was a pastor.
She moved to Philadelphia in the 1960s and met Patti LaBelle, Cindy Birdsong, and Nona Hendryx. All four formed a group that eventually became Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Birdsong, though, left the group in 1967. She would become a member of the Supremes.
LaBelle and the others renamed themselves Labelle. The group signed with Warner Bros. Records and released albums like “Nightbirds,” “Phoenix,” and “Chameleon.”
‘Lady Marmalade’ Became Biggest Hit Song For Labelle During Their Time Together
The hit “Lady Marmalade” was on “Nightbirds” and would become the biggest hit Labelle had together. It soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and became an international hit.
Labelle broke up in 1977, but Sarah Dash wasn’t through yet.
Her solo career, as we mentioned, saw her tour with Richards in the late 1980s and sing on the Stones’ 1989 record “Steel Wheels.”
Again, Sarah Dash produced one-woman shows for herself in the 1990s. She got back together with Labelle for a 1995 hit, “Turn It Out.” Sarah Dash rejoined the group in 2005 for “Back to Now,” an album produced by Lenny Kravitz and Wyclef Jean.
She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Dash served as Trenton’s Music Ambassador, where she pushed for an expansion of performing arts there.
While we’re paying to Sarah Dash, Outsiders, let’s take a look at Labelle singing their biggest hit, “Lady Marmalade.”
