DENISE LaSALLE

Nicknamed the "Queen of the Blues," Denise LaSalle was a modern-day Bessie Smith who wrote funny songs full of sassy attitude.

She was born Ora Denise Allen near Sidon, Mississippi, on July 16, 1934, the youngest of eight children. (Some biographies give her year of birth as 1939.) She also went by Denise Craig. Her family worked as sharecroppers. From age seven, she lived in Belzoni, Mississippi, where she sang in church choirs and local gospel groups in Leflore County. She grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. She also lived across the street from a juke joint in Belzoni and became influenced by Rhythm & Blues singers like Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, and Dinah Washington.

At age 13, she went to Chicago to live with her oldest brother, frequently attending shows at the Regal Theater. She also sat in with R&B musicians and wrote songs. Circa 1965, she worked as a barmaid at Mix’s Lounge when she met Billy “The Kid” Emerson, who was recording for Chess. He helped get her a one-year contract, but no recording session happened. Emerson later started his own label, Tarpon, on which he recorded Denise LaSalle (as he had renamed her). The resulting single, “A Love Reputation,” was a local hit in 1967.

In 1969, she met and married businessman Bill Jones. Together, they formed Crajon Productions. LaSalle wrote the majority of the songs recorded by the company’s artists, and both shared in the production work. Crajon’s most successful act was LaSalle herself. She did much of her recording at the Hi Records studios in Memphis, arranged by Willie Mitchell and backed up by the Hi Rhythm Section.

Her work in Memphis impressed Armen Boladian of Westbound Records in Detroit—so much so that he signed her to his label. During her six years with Westbound, LaSalle came out with twelve singles and three albums. Her first and biggest, “Trapped by a Thing Called Love,” hit #1 on the Soul chart and #13 pop in the fall of 1971. It also received a gold record for sales of one million copies.

Denise LaSalle and Bill Jones divorced in 1974. By 1976, she was living in Jackson, Mississippi, and signed with ABC Records. There, her biggest hit was 1978’s “Love Me Right.” ABC was later taken over by MCA, for whom LaSalle recorded three albums. In 1977, she married her second husband, James E. Wolfe, Jr. Nicknamed “Super Wolfe,” he was a disc jockey who later ran several radio stations and then became a preacher. In Jackson, LaSalle opened a restaurant called the Blues Legend Cafe. (It later closed.)

In 1982, LaSalle signed with Malaco Records as a songwriter, composing tunes for acts like Z.Z. Hill. LaSalle would later start her own label, Ordena, and put out albums like the two-disc set This Real Woman and the gospel release, God’s Got My Back. By 2002, she was recording for the Memphis-based Ecko Records. Her first album there was called Still the Queen.

In 2009, LaSalle was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Belzoni. In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2013 and ‘14, she was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category of Soul Female Blues Artist. And in 2015, she was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

LaSalle had serious health issues, including heart problems. In October 2017, her right leg was amputated due to complications from a fall. She died on January 8, 2018, surrounded by her family.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Trapped by a Thing Called Love” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

Charted singles:

“Trapped by a Thing Called Love” (1971) R&B #1 (1 week), Pop #13
“Now Run and Tell That” (1972) R&B #3, Pop #46
“A Man-Sized Job” (1972) R&B #4, Pop #55
“What It Takes to Get a Good Woman” (1972) R&B #31
“Your Man and Your Best Friend” (1973) R&B #92
“Don’t Nobody Live Here (By the Name of Fool)” (1973) R&B #67
“Get Up Off My Mind” (1974) R&B #96
“My Brand on You” (1975) R&B #55
“Married, But Not to Each Other” (1975) R&B #16, Pop #102
“Love Me Right” (1978) R&B #10, Pop #80
“One Life to Live” (1978) R&B #87
“Workin’ Overtime” (1978) R&B #70
“P.A.R.T.Y. (Where It Is)” (1979) R&B #90 “I’m So Hot” (1980) R&B #82
“My Toot Toot” (1985) R&B #79