Sarah Dash, co-founder of the legendary pop and R&B trio Labelle with Patti LaBelle and a respected session vocalist with Keith Richards, died Monday. She was 76.
via: The Root
Dash was born the seventh of 13 children in 1945 in Trenton, N.J. Her mother was a nurse and her father a pastor at the Trenton Church of Christ, where Dash grew up singing gospel before forming her own teen singing group, the Del Capris. Relocating to Philadelphia in the 1960s, she connected with fellow Trenton native Nona Hendryx, Philadelphian Patricia Louise Holte—and singer Sundray Tucker; together, the four young women formed “The Ordettes.”
By 1962, Tucker had been replaced by future Supreme Cindy Birdsong, and the group rebranded as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, as lead singer Holte had also personally rebranded as Patti LaBelle. Together, the group recorded a string of doo-wop and R&B hits including the Top 20 debut single “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman,” followed by “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Danny Boy,” and “Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song),” which reached the Top 40. Also well known is the quartet’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” which remains one of Patti LaBelle’s signature songs.
When Birdsong departed the group in 1967 to replace Florence Ballard in The Supremes, the remaining trio underwent another rebrand. Now simply known as Labelle and under the management of British TV producer Vicki Wickham (“She was an eye-opener to us,” Dash told SFGate in 2007), the group also changed their sound and look, adopting a more psychedelic, Afro-futurist image and sexier rock-funk sound that retained their rich R&B harmonies. Both the look and sound reflected the radically changing times and set Labelle apart from their girl group contemporaries.
In the mid-’80s, Dash pivoted to session work, providing vocals for The O’Jays, Nile Rodgers, and many more. Longtime friend and Rolling Stones co-founder Keith Richards invited Dash on tour, the Bluebelles having opened for Stones in the 1960s. Their reunion led to a longstanding professional relationship which included appearances on two of his solo albums, as well as on the Stones’ 1989 Steel Wheels album. On tour with the Stones, Dash took over the famed Merry Clayton vocal on on “Gimme Shelter.” She is also remembered by many of Richards’ fans as the featured vocalist on his 1989 single “Make No Mistake.”
https://twitter.com/kurtblumenau/status/1440309495968632833?s=20
Dash and LaBelle reunited for the last time just last Saturday night, when LaBelle pulled her friend and former bandmate on stage during a tour stop. “We were just on-stage together on Saturday and it was such a powerful and special moment!,” LaBelle wrote on Monday in response to news of Dash’s passing, posting a thread of tributes and footage of the two singing together.
https://twitter.com/MsPattiPatti/status/1440066287342809094?s=20
— Patti LaBelle (@MsPattiPatti) September 20, 2021
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The Universe seems a little less bright today because God just chose one of His brightest stars to be with Him.
Ms Sarah Dash, you will always shine in our hearts and your phenomenal voice will remain to brighten our lives forever. pic.twitter.com/tIYZ1jM51r— Sister Sledge (@SisterSledge_) September 21, 2021
RIP Queen.
