Denise LaSalle

Ora Denise Allen (July 16, 1939 – January 8, 2018), known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who, since the death of Koko Taylor, had been recognized as the "Queen of the Blues".

Her best known songs were "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" and "Down Home Blues".

LaSalle was born near Sidon, Mississippi, as the youngest of eight children, 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 groups around Leflore County, to age 13, when she moved to Chicago in the early 1960s to live with her eldest brother.

She sat in with R&B musicians and wrote songs, influenced by country music as well as the blues, before winning a recording contract with Chess Records in 1967. Her first 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-based Westbound Records. 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 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 [producer] 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, operated by Mitchell, using the best southern session players. She continued to have hits on Westbound and then on ABC Records through the mid-1970s, including "Love Me Right" (#10 R&B, #80 pop); she also continued to perform live and to produce. Her co-penned song "Married, But Not to Each Other" (#16 R&B) was included on the 1979 compilation album The Best of Barbara Mandrell.

In the early 1980s, she signed as a singer and songwriter with Malaco Records, for whom she released a string of critically acclaimed albums over more than 20 years, starting with Lady in the Street (1983) and Right Place, Right Time (1984). Both albums became successful among soul blues, R&B and soul fans, and on urban radio stations. In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the UK Singles Chart when her cover version of Rockin' Sidney's "My Toot Toot" reached #6.

She appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the Long Beach Blues Festival. In 1993, she also performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Her album, Smokin' In Bed (1997), sold well. After more than a decade away, during which she recorded three albums with Ecko, a small Memphis-based soul-blues label, she returned to Malaco to release an album in 2010, titled 24 Hour Woman. She continued to work as a live performer, particularly at festivals, and more recently had branched out into the gospel genre.

In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

LaSalle lived with her husband, James E. Wolfe, in Jackson, Tennessee, where she opened a restaurant called Blues Legend Café. The restaurant was located at 436 E. Main Street, but has since closed.

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.

Her first marriage was to Bill Jones in 1969; they divorced in 1974. Both of them collaborated in producing records, and they went on to establish an independent production company, Crajon Records. In 1977, she married disc jockey James E. “Super Wolfe” Wolfe Jr.; she 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 78, on January 8, 2018.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Denise LaSalle among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Albums

• 1967 Love Reputation
• 1971 Craving for You
• 1972 Trapped By A Thing Called Love
• 1972 Doin' it Right
• 1973 On The Loose
• 1975 Here I Am Again
• 1976 Second Breath
• 1977 The Bitch Is Bad!
• 1978 Under The Influence
• 1978 Shot Of Love
• 1979 Unwrapped
• 1980 I'm So Hot
• 1981 Guaranteed
• 1983 A Lady In The Street
• 1984 Right Place Right Time
• 1985 Love Talkin'
• 1985 My Toot Toot
• 1986 Rain And Fire
• 1987 It's Lying Time Again
• 1989 Hittin´ Where It Hurts
• 1989 Holdin’ Hands With The Blues
• 1990 Still Trapped
• 1992 Love Me Right
• 1994 I'm Here Again ... Plus
• 1995 Still Bad
• 1997 Smokin’ In Bed
• 1999 God’s Got My Back
• 2000 This Real Woman
• 2001 I Get What I Want – The Best Of
• 2001 There’s No Separation
• 2002 Still The Queen
• 2003 My Toot Toot: Definitive Anthology
• 2004 Wanted
• 2007 Pay Before You Pump
• 2010 24 Hour Woman

Singles

• 1967 "Love Reputation" / "One Little Thing"
• 1970 "Trying To Forget" / "We’ve Got Love"
• 1971 "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" / "Keep It Coming"
• 1972 "Now Run And Tell That" / "The Deeper I Go, The Better It Gets"
• 1972 "Man Sized Job" / "I’m Over You"*
• 1972 "Heartbreaker Of The Year" / "Hung Up Strung Out"
• 1972 "Too Late To Check Your Trap" / "Heartbreaker Of The Year"
• 1972"Right Track" / "Too Late To Check Your Trap"
• 1973 "What It Takes To Get A Good Woman" / "Make a Good Thing Better"
• 1973 "Your Man And Your Best Friend / "What Am I Doing Wrong"
• 1974 "Don't Nobody Live Here (By The Name Of Fool)" / "Good Goody Getter"
• 1974 "Get Up Off My Mind" / "Best Thing I Ever Had"
• 1975 "My Brand On You" / "Any Time Is The Right Time"
• 1975 "Here I Am Again" / "Hung Up Strung Out"
• 1975 "Count Down" / "A Promise Is A Promise (And Fly Me To The Moon)"
• 1976 "Married But Not To Each Other" / "Who's The Fool"
• 1976 "Hellfire Loving" / "Versions"
• 1977 "Freedom To Express Yourself" / "Second Breath"
• 1977 "Love Me Right" / "Fool Me Good"
• 1978 "One Life To Live" / "Before You Take It To The Streets"
• 1978 "Workin' Overtime" / "No Matter What They Say"
• 1979 "P.A.R.T.Y. (Where Is It?)" / "Under The Influence"
• 1979 "Think About It" / "Versions"
• 1980 "Try My Love" / "May The Funk B With You"
• 1980 "I’m So Hot" / "Versions"
• 1981 "I’m Trippin’ On You" / "I’ll Get Some Help (& Satisfaction)"
• 1983 "Down Home Blues" / "X-Rated Versions"
• 1983 "Lady In The Street" / "I Was Not The Best Woman"
• 1983 "Lay Me Down" / "I Was Telling Him About You"
• 1983 "Come To Bed" / "Keeps Me Running Back"
• 1983 "Come To Bed" / "I Was Not The Best Woman"
• 1984 "Right Place Right Time" / "Come To Bed"
• 1984 "Right Place Right Time" / "Bump And Grind"
• 1984 "Treat Your Man Like A Baby" / "Come To Bed"
• 1984 "He’s Not Available" / "Right Place Right Time"
• 1985 "My Toot Toot" / "Give Me Yo' Most Strongest Whisky"
• 1985 "Santa Claus Got The Blues" / "Love Is A Five Letter Word"
• 1986 "Let The Four Winds Blow" / "Sometimes" / "Right Time, Right Place"
• 1986 "What’s Going On In My House" / "Learnin' How To Cheat On You"
• 1989 "Bring It On Home To Me" / "Write This One Off"
• 1989 "I Forgot To Remember" / "Caught In Your Own Mess"
• 1989 "Don’t Cry No More" / "Eee Tee"
• 1990 "Drop That Zero" / "Trapped 1990"
• 1992 "Don’t Pick It Up" / "Don't Jump My Pony"
• 1992 "When We’re Making Love" / "Don't Pick It Up"
• 1992 "Don't Jump My Pony" / "Juke Box Strip"
• 1992 "Fool Me Good" / "Love Me Right"
• 1995 "Right Side Of The Wrong Bed"
• 1995"Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"
• 2001"There's No Separation"
• 2002"24 Hours"