LaBelle:  (l to right) Sarah Dash, Nona Hendryx, Patti LaBelle

March 19, 2009 - We caught up with the dynamic trio, LaBelle, before and after their performance during this year's NABOB Awards Ceremony.  Read on as we talk about the reunion of the trio, and more!

DC Urban LifeStyle Magazine:   What’s it like being reunited with LaBelle?

Patty LaBelle:  I’ve been away from them for thirty-three years. We’re back together now.  We’ve been back together for about a year now.    And tonight, the people we’re performing for are not necessarily a LaBelle crowd.

DCULs:  Why do you think that?

PL:  Because everybody don’t know about LaBelle, I don’t think; and I feel I have to prove myself again.  I always do.  I don’t take anything for granted.  It’s a blessing that they’re honoring us.  And I’m just happy to be with my girls.

DCULs:  You know you are always a DC favorite, and your fans here love you.

PL:  Well, I know everybody here tonight ain’t from DC.

DCULs: Now, you know almost everyone knows about LaBelle.

Any doubts that Ms. Patti had about the NABOB crowd not knowing about LaBelle, were quickly put to rest when the trio walked on the stage.  Even before the end of the show’s finale, a young man, one of several men Ms. Patti pulled from the audience to sing with the group on stage, sang along to LaBelle’s trademark song, Lady Marmalade.

Speaking With Nona Hendryx

What was really special for me on the evening was Nona Hendryx telling me she remembered her solo performance at my alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), back in the day.

Nona Hendryx: “Was it outside?”

DCULS: “Yes, it was!”

Nona Hendryx: “I remember."

Wow!   1982, and she remembered that spring time performance!   That was amazing to me.  That showed me she appreciates her fans and each performance must hold something near and dear to her heart.

Looking amazing (as all three ladies did), I asked Ms. Nona what her secret to looking so fabulous is.

DCULS: “Do you work out?” I asked.

Nona Hendryx: “I think it’s just good genes”, she replied.

Good Advice From Sarah Dash

We spoke, also, with Sarah Dash to get advice on what young people trying to make it in the music business should do.  Unlike Patti LaBelle’s comment about not liking this season’s contestants on American Idol, Ms. Dash suggested that young people make sure they are singing for the right reason.

Sarah Dash: “It must be something they want to do. They must be singing because they want to sing, and not for someone else.”

Ms. Dash, who used to have a music studio in the DC area before relocating to New Jersey also adds this solid advice, “Keep God in your life.”

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