Jackson’s Denise LaSalle, a rhythm and blues soul singer, songwriter, and record producer, passed away Monday at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville.
“We received word this morning prior to the (City Council) meeting that Denise LaSalle had passed away,” said Jerry Gist, mayor of Jackson. “It’s sad news for the City because she was a real advocate for our city.
“She and her husband, James ‘Super’ Wolfe, have been very active in our city and music industry, always taking the opportunity to promote Jackson.
“We appreciate them, and ask our citizens be in prayer for the family, for comfort – especially.”
Denise was born July 16, 1939, near Sidon, Mississippi, and was raised in Belzoni, where she sang in church choirs before moving to Chicago in the early 1960s.
She sat in with rhythm and blues musicians and wrote songs, influenced by country music as well as the blues, before earning a recording contract with Chess Records in 1967.
Her first single was “A Love Reputation.”
Denise established an independent production company, Crajon Records in Chicago, with her then husband Bill Jones, and her song “Trapped By A Thing Called Love” in 1971, was released on Detroit-based Westbound Records.
The song reached No. 1 on the national R&B chart and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song ranked No. 85 on the 1971 year-end chart. The RIAA gold disc award was made on November 30, 1971 for sales that topped one million.
Additional hits included – “Now Run And Tell That” and “Man Sized Job” which reached No. 3 and No. 4, respectively 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 Willie Mitchell.
In the mid-1970s, hits included “Love Me Right” (No. 10 R&B, No. 80 POP), and “Married, But Not to Each Other” (No. 16 R&B) was included in the 1979 The Best of Barbara Mandrell, compilation album.
Momentum continue into the early 1980s, when she signed as a singer and songwriter with Malaco Records.
In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the UK Singles Chart, when her cover version of Rockin’ Sidney’s “My Toot Toot” reached No. 6.
Denise appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the Long Beach Blues Festival.
In 1993, she performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival.
After more than a decade out of the public eye, she recorded three albums with small Memphis-based soul-blues label, Ecko, she returned to Malaco for her 2010 outing called “24 Hour Woman.”
In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
(PHOTO: Denise LaSalle)
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