\n<\/p>\n
She once called the song, a No. 1 hit in 1975, \u201ccatchy, corny and commercial,\u201d but loved the way it united the Black, gay, disco and funk audiences Labelle was drawing, with its glam look and far-reaching lyrics. \u201cIt really did bring people together,\u201d she told me, \u201cbecause it\u2019s very difficult for you to hate when you\u2019re dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group knew \u201cMarmalade\u201d \u2014 written by the songwriter-producers Bob Krewe and Kenny Nolan \u2014 was a winner during its recording, with Allen Toussaint<\/a> in his New Orleans studio, LaBelle said, even though she had no idea what its now-famous chorus \u201cVoulez-vous coucher avec moi?\u201d meant. \u201cWe thought it was just a fun song,\u201d LaBelle said, \u201cthen finding out it was about a hooker! But she has to make her money too. So we kept singing.\u201d<\/p>\n By then, Hendryx had taken an interest in the logistics of recording, and migrated to the engineer\u2019s side of the booth \u2014 almost unheard-of for a female artist, or any woman, in that era. Roberta Grace<\/a>, an assistant engineer on that session, was a rare exception, later teaching Hendryx how to solder wires for her own board. \u201cI wasn\u2019t happy with the sound\u201d on \u201cLady Marmalade,\u201d Hendryx recalled, and because she and the band pushed, it was mixed again.<\/p>\n The trio had no more chart-toppers, though, and Hendryx, who had been their main songwriter, stepped out on her own. She never quite achieved the same level of public acclaim, even as she earned critical attention and a wider artistic circle of downtown rockers, along with a Grammy nomination in 1985, for \u201cRock This House,\u201d<\/a> recorded with Keith Richards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n