Denise LaSalle is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

/soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 and blues singer, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

.

Career

Most sources give her name at birth as Denise Craig, although it has also been stated that she was born Denise Allen, and that the name Craig derives from an early marriage. Raised in Belzoni, Mississippi

Belzoni, Mississippi

Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County...

, she sang in local churches before moving to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in the early 1960s. She sat in with R&B musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

s and wrote song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s, influenced by country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 as well as the blues

Soul blues

Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music...

, before winning a recording contract

Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

 with Chess Records

Chess Records

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

 in 1967. Her first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "A Love Reputation" was a modest regional hit

Hit record

A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

.

After establishing an independent production company, Crajon, with her then husband

Husband

A husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...

 Bill Jones, her first major success came in 1971 when her self-penned song, "Trapped By A Thing Called Love

Trapped By a Thing Called Love

"Trapped By a Thing Called Love" is the debut 1971 crossover hit single by Denise LaSalle. The single was her biggest hit on the R&B chart and her only Top 40 pop hit peaking at number thirteen . "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" was written by Denise LaSalle who also produced the song along with...

" was released on Detroit-based Westbound Records

Westbound Records

Westbound Records is a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1970. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switched distribution to Atlantic Records from 1976 to...

. This reached #1 on the national R&B

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart. The song ranked at #85 on the 1971 year-end chart. The RIAA

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 gold disc

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 award was made on 30 November 1971 for a million sales.

She also wrote successful follow-ups, "Now Run And Tell That" and "Man Sized Job" which made #3 and #4 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, using the cream of southern session players. She continued to have hits on Westbound and then on ABC Records

ABC Records

ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....

 through the mid 1970s, including "Love Me Right" (#10 R&B, #80 pop) She continued to produce and perform live. Her co-penned song, "Married, But Not to Each Other" (#16 R&B) was included in the 1979 The Best of Barbara Mandrell

The Best of Barbara Mandrell

The Best of Barbara Mandrell is a compilation album by American country music singer, Barbara Mandrell, released in January 1979.The Best of Barbara Mandrell covered most of Mandrell's biggest hits from the mid to late 70s. It includes the #1, "Sleeping Single In a Double Bed", other Top 10s,...

, compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

.

In the early 1980s, she signed as a singer and songwriter with Malaco Records

Malaco Records

Malaco Records is an independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi. Malaco is and has been the home of various major soul, blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, ZZ Hill, Denise LaSalle, Benny Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Marvin Sease, and the...

, for whom she released a string of critically acclaimed album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s over more than 20 years, starting with Lady in the Street (1983) and Right Place, Right Time (1984). Both albums became major successes among soul blues

Soul blues

Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music...

, R&B and soul fans

Fan (person)

A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

 and on urban

Urban contemporary

Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...

 radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s. In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, when her cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Rockin' Sidney

Rockin' Sidney

Sidney Simien aka Rockin' Sidney and Count Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death.-Biography:...

's, "My Toot Toot", reached #6.

LaSalle appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the Long Beach Blues Festival

Long Beach Blues Festival

The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, was established in full in 1980, and is one of the largest Blues festivals and is the second oldest on the West Coast . It is held on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. For many years it was held on the athletic field on the...

, and also in 1993, she performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival

San Francisco Blues Festival

Debuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...

. Her 1997 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Smokin' In Bed was an unexpected commercial success. After more than a decade away, when she recorded three albums with small Memphis-based soul-blues label, Ecko, she returned to Malaco for her 2010 outing called "24 Hour Woman".

She continues to work as a live performer, particularly at festivals

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

, and more recently has issued more gospel-tinged material. In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
LaSalle now lives in Jackson

Jackson, Tennessee

Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 with her husband, James E. Wolfe.

Albums

• 1967 Love Reputation
• 1972 Trapped By A Thing Called Love
• 1972 Doin' it right
• 1973 On The Loose
• 1975 Here I Am Again
• 1976 Second Breath
• 1977 The Bitch Is Bad
• 1978 Under The Influence
• 1978 Shot Of Love
• 1979 Unwrapped
• 1980 I'm So Hot
• 1981 Guaranteed
• 1983 A Lady In The Street
• 1984 Right Place Right Time
• 1985 Love Talkin'
• 1985 My Toot Toot
• 1986 Rain And Fire
• 1987 It's Lying Time Again
• 1989 Hittin´ Where It Hurts
• 1989 Holdin’ Hands With The Blues
• 1990 Still Trapped
• 1992 Love Me Right
• 1994 I'm Here Again ... Plus
• 1995 Still Bad
• 1997 Smokin’ In Bed
• 1999 God’s Got My Back
• 2000 This Real Woman
• 2001 I Get What I Want – The Best Of
• 2001 There’s No Separation
• 2002 Still The Queen
• 2003 My Toot Toot: Definitive Anthology
• 2004 Wanted
• 2007 Pay Before You Pump
• 2010 24 Hour Woman

Singles

• 1967 "Love Reputation" / "One Little Thing"
• 1970 "Trying To Forget" / "We’ve Got Love"
• 1971 "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" / "Keep It Coming"
• 1972 "Now Run And Tell That" / "The Deeper I Go, The Better It Gets"
• 1972 "Man Sized Job" / "I’m Over You"*
• 1972 "Heartbreaker Of The Year" / "Hung Up Strung Out"
• 1972 "Too Late To Check Your Trap" / "Heartbreaker Of The Year"
• 1972 "Right Track" / "Too Late To Check Your Trap"
• 1973 "What It Takes To Get A Good Woman" / "Make a Good Thing Better"
• 1973 "Your Man And Your Best Friend / "What Am I Doing Wrong"
• 1974 "Don't Nobody Live Here (By The Name Of Fool)" / "Good Goody Getter"
• 1974 "Get Up Off My Mind" / "Best Thing I Ever Had"
• 1975 "My Brand On You" / "Any Time Is The Right Time"
• 1975 "Here I Am Again" / "Hung Up Strung Out"
• 1975 "Count Down" / "A Promise Is A Promise (And Fly Me To The Moon)"
• 1976 "Married But Not To Each Other" / "Who's The Fool"
• 1976 "Hellfire Loving" / "Versions"
• 1977 "Freedom To Express Yourself" / "Second Breath"
• 1977 "Love Me Right" / "Fool Me Good"
• 1978 "One Life To Live" / "Before You Take It To The Streets"
• 1978 "Workin' Overtime" / "No Matter What They Say"
• 1979 "P.A.R.T.Y. (Where Is It?)" / "Under The Influence"
• 1979 "Think About It" / "Versions"
• 1980 "Try My Love" / "May The Funk B With You"
• 1980 "I’m So Hot" / "Versions"
• 1981 "I’m Trippin’ On You" / "I’ll Get Some Help (& Satisfaction)"
• 1983 "Down Home Blues" / "X-Rated Versions"
• 1983 "Lady In The Street" / "I Was Not The Best Woman"
• 1983 "Lay Me Down" / "I Was Telling Him About You"
• 1983 "Come To Bed" / "Keeps Me Running Back"
• 1983 "Come To Bed" / "I Was Not The Best Woman"
• 1984 "Right Place Right Time" / "Come To Bed"
• 1984 "Right Place Right Time" / "Bump And Grind"
• 1984 "Treat Your Man Like A Baby" / "Come To Bed"
• 1984 "He’s Not Available" / "Right Place Right Time"
• 1985 "My Toot Toot" / "Give Me Yo' Most Strongest Whisky"
• 1985 "Santa Claus Got The Blues" / "Love Is A Five Letter Word"
• 1986 "Let The Four Winds Blow" / "Sometimes" / "Right Time, Right Place"
• 1986 "What’s Going On In My House" / "Learnin' How To Cheat On You"
• 1989 "Bring It On Home To Me" / "Write This One Off"
• 1989 "I Forgot To Remember" / "Caught In Your Own Mess"
• 1989 "Don’t Cry No More" / "Eee Tee"
• 1990 "Drop That Zero" / "Trapped 1990"
• 1992 "Don’t Pick It Up" / "Don't Jump My Pony"
• 1992 "When We’re Making Love" / "Don't Pick It Up"
• 1992 "Don't Jump My Pony" / "Juke Box Strip"
• 1992 "Fool Me Good" / "Love Me Right"
• 1995 "Right Side Of The Wrong Bed"
• 1995 "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"
• 2001 "There's No Separation"

External links

• [ Allmusic.com biography]