Sarah Dash, most well known as a singer and founding member of R&B girl group Labelle, has passed away. She was 76 years old as NME Reported
At the time of writing, no cause of death has been revealed, though Soul Tracks reports that “it was unexpected”. Dash’s final performance took place on Saturday (September 18) when she joined her former group’s lead vocalist Patti Labelle at the latter’s concert in New Jersey.
In 1988, Keith Richards recruited Dash to contribute to his solo material. The singer would duet on the song “Make No Mistake,” which featured on Richards’ Talk is Cheap LP. She’d soon join his backing band, the X-Pensive Winos, touring around the world. Dash contributed to the Rolling Stones 1989 album Steel Wheels and later lent her voice to another Richards release, 1992’s Main Offender.
Dash was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. As news of her death became public, friend and bandmate Patti Labelle took to Instagram to pay her respects.
Read More: Sarah Dash, Labelle Singer and Rolling Stones Cohort, Dead at 76 | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/sarah-dash-dead/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Posting a clip of the performance on Instagram, Patti Labelle wrote that Dash “was an awesomely talented, beautiful, and loving soul who blessed my life and the lives of so many others in more ways than I can say.
“I could always count on her to have my back! That’s who Sarah was… a loyal friend and a voice for those who didn’t have one. She was a true giver… always serving, always sharing her talent and her time.
“I am heart broken, as I know all of her loved ones and fans are. But, I know that Sarah’s spirit and all that she has given to the world live on! And I pray that her precious memory brings us peace and comfort. Rest in power my dear sister. I love you always.”
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Dash linked up with Patti Labelle and Nona Hondryx for the first time in 1961 as part of The Ordettes, along with Sundray Tucker. Soon after, Tucker was replaced by Cindy Birdsong and the group had changed their name to Patti Labelle and The Bluebells.
In the late 60s, Birdsong left the band to join The Supremes, and the trio once again rebranded themselves to simply Labelle, in what is their most recognisable lineup. Together, the trio released eight albums together, most recently 2008’s ‘Back To Now’. They enjoyed particular success with the release of their seminal 1974 single, ‘Lady Marmalade’.
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People are really suffering in some places and don’t have the advantages that we have. So you went up and down and you had to be adaptable. Obviously, I’m luckier than most. I’ve never spent so long in the country. I always had somewhere I could go outside. The idea of being locked up in an urban apartment without being able to go out — which a lot of my friends were — must have been really awful. You miss seeing people; you miss conversation; you miss interaction; you miss playing music with people. All of that was difficult. But I can’t say I had a hard time. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I was able to deal with it because I was lucky enough to be able to have these nice places to hole up in. But not everyone does.
