Sara Dash, the singer and founder of R&B group Labelle—best known for their hit “Lady Marmalade,” died on Monday (September 20). She was 76.
“We were just onstage together on Saturday and it was such a powerful and special moment,” Patti LaBelle said in a statement to Billboard. “Sarah Dash 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. 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 and sharing her talent and time. I am heartbroken, as I know all of her loved ones and fans are. But I know that Sarah’s spirit and all that she has given to the world live on. And I pray that her precious memory brings us peace and comfort. Rest in power my dear sister. I love you always!”
Born on August 18, 1945 in Trenton, New Jersey, Dash first teamed up with Nona Hendryx and Patti LaBelle—her collaborators in Labelle—for a doo-wop quartet with Sundray Tucker called the Ordettes. They experienced moderate success, but would see their stars rise significantly in the ’70s when they re-emerged as the trio Labelle, channeling funk as they eschewed the ’60s girl group aesthetic. Their 1974 pro-sex worker anthem “Lady Marmalade”—recorded with Allen Toussaint in New Orleans—would become their biggest and most enduring hit, inspiring multiple cover versions that also hit No. 1 on the charts. Labelle would go on to be the first black vocal group to perform at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House.
After Labelle broke up in 1976, Dash began a solo career that spanned four albums over the next decade. She then established herself as a session singer, recording with the O’Jays, Nile Rodgers, the Marshall Tucker Band, and David Johansen. She wrote music with Keith Richards, and toured with the Rolling Stones. When Labelle reunited in 1995 for “Turn It Out” (from the To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar soundtrack) it hit No. 1 on the dance charts. She would record one final album with Labelle: Back to Now in 2008.
Read about Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” in Pitchfork’s “The Story of Girl Groups in 45 Songs.”
