You shouldn't smile when somebody dies. But...
...that hokey hooker-name Denise LaSalle instantly brought back a memory of that odd 70's time when you just might open up a demo package from a record label and find...a bawdy black lady bawlin' inside.
I don't know quite what prompted the return to rudeness (which of course goes back to those old R&B "copulatin' blues" 78's black women made). But there was Denise (real name Denise Allen (July 16, 1939-January 8, 2018). There was, of course Donna Summer with "Bad Girls" (beep beep!) and my favorite (on the album cover alone) Millie Jackson (still with us at 73. OK, Millie, let's see that album cover:
Huh, what? Well, politically incorrect or not, the theme seemed to be: you were not likely to get a blowjob from Olivia Newton-John or Marie Osmond, you'd have a long line ahead of you to get to Carly or Joni, but what you REALLY should be doin' is finding a BLACK MAMA who knows ALL the tricks...and is downright NASTY...
...but not so NASTY that you wouldn't want to lick it before you stick it.
LaSalle's four decade career obviously was more about talent than the occasional risque song. Signed to Chess in the late 60'ss her single "A Love Reputation" hinted that she could build on her charisma and be a star. Her breakthrough was "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" (1971) and it sold a million copies.
She wrote a lot of her own stuff, and though she still tended to show up on the R&B charts more than the mainstream charts, she was in the Top 10 with "Man Sized Job" and "Love Me Right," and her "Married, But Not To Each Other" was covered by Barbara Mandrell. She was sizzling between Millie Jackson and the future queen Donna Summer when "The Bitch is Bad!" came out in 1977.
You could grab a handful of Denise in any decade. Her many albums include 70's releases Trapped By A Thing Called Love, Doin' it Right, On The Loose, Here I Am Again, Second Breath and The Bitch Is Bad!, 80's items My Toot Toot, Rain And Fire, It's Lying Time Again and Hittin´ Where It Hurts. Funny (no, not really) it was long after Donna's "Bad Girls...BEEP BEEP" that the dopey single "My Toot Toot" became La Salle's only Top 10 UK hit.
In the 90's LaSalle released, among others, I'm Here Again ... Plus, Still Bad, and Smokin’ In Bed and more recently, Still The Queen (2002), Wanted (2004), Pay Before You Pump (2007) and 24 Hour Woman (2010).
"Gee our old LaSalle ran great..." Those were the days. Still can be the days if you feel like it. And..."Lick it before you stick it" is still good advice.
Lick It (not "dig it" "get it" "cheers!" "enjoy!" or other dopey blogger link words) Download or listen on line
I didn't hear about Miss LaSalle's passing and like yerself, I did smile at the sight of her name. Here in the UK she'll forever be remembered for her big hit in 1985, the infamous "My Toot Toot" - a record so bad (as tasteful as celery!) one couldn't help but smirk whenever one heard it. What made it funnier was a local DJ personally banned the record... probably the only DJ in the UK who did as he deemed the song as "disgusting" and in "bad taste"... and here's the funniest thing - that cost him his career. Funny because nowadays a DJ like that with such a political correctness stance would be welcomed with open arms in today's absurd climate.
ReplyDeleteThat DJ had a pathological hatred of Status Quo and it was a comical moment when he went into a rant one evening stating "I am being forced to play this piece of rubbish" and lo and behold, he began playing a Quo record. One minute in, he swiped it off and next thing we heard was him trying to smash the record. No wonder I loved listening to his show but even back then thought his banning of "My Toot Toot" was ridiculous.
"My Toot Toot" was even more ridiculous than Chuck's "Ding-a-Long." It's part of the tradition of simply repeating an odd word or phrase over and over for 3 or 4 minutes. "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt" and "Who Let the Dogs Out" and "Don't mess with my TOOT TOOT!" It's giving me a WAH-WAH.....
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