Singer Sarah Dash from 70s group LaBelle dies aged 76

Singer Sarah Dash from 70’s pop group LaBelle has passed away aged 76. She topped the charts with hits including Lady Marmalade before launching a solo career.

Sarah Dash’s music career began in Philadelphia the 1960s when she teamed up with Nona Hendryx, Patricia Holte and Sundray Tucker to form the girl group The Ordettes. When Tucker left the group, she was replaced by Cindy Birdsong and they renamed themselves The Bluebelles. Holte later changed her name to Patti LaBelle, and band morphed into Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, scoring their first hit with I Sold My Heart to the Junkman. 

In 1967 Birdsong decamped to join The Supremes, and the band changed their name one more, becoming LaBelle. The band worked hard until their scored their biggest success in 1974 with their album Nightbirds, which contained the massive hit Lady Marmalade. 

After the band split in the late 70s Dash launched a solo career. At the height of disco she worked with some of the biggest names including producer Patrick Cowley, Sylvester and Phyllis Hyman. She scored hits with songs including Sinner Man, (Come and Take) This Candy From Your Baby and Lucky Tonight. 

OIP Staff

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