Patti LaBelle has many awards and attributes that make her a true legendary singer in the world of music.

Her 50-year career as a singer has encompassed music with more than 50 million records sold and as a featured actress in stage and film productions in which she has appeared. She is a published author with her autobiography “Don’t Block The Blessings” and several cookbooks.

As a child, when she was 10 years old, she joined the church choir and at 12 she sang her first solo at Beulah Baptist Church. It was during these early years that people noticed that she had talent as a singer,

The different groups he was part of from the beginning were the Ordettes in ’59 which became The Blubelles in ’61 and LaBelle in 1970.

In 1974 LaBelle’s album night owls caught in. The album’s first single was “Lady Marmalade”, a disco song and it became her first number one hit in 12 years. In 1976 Labelle, as a group, broke up.

Patti then became a solo artist in 1977 and her career began to pick up steam in the ’80s. In 1982 she recorded a ballad titled “The Best Is Yet to Come” which charted at number 14 on the R&B chart and earned her a Grammy nomination. In 1983 she released another hit with “I’m In Love Again”. In 1984 she had her first number one R&B hit “If Only You Knew”.

Some of Patti’s songs that I really like are “On My Own,” a song she sang with Michael McDonald and had a #1 hit with. Other ’80s hits that I really liked were “Stir It Up,” “If You Asked Me To,” “Flame,” and “When You’ve Been Blessed.”

In 1991 he received his first Grammy Award for his album “Burnin” and in 1998 his second Grammy for his album To live! Just one night. Among Patti’s numerous awards, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Apollo Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone includes her in the list of the 100 best singers of hers.

Beyond all this there are things that speak of his character that are as important as all his awards.

In 1969, Patti married Armstead Edwards. In 1973, they both wanted a child of their own and decided that while juggling her career and her parenthood might be a big task, it was worth it. They knew that the child would receive a lot of love from them as it was their sincere wish to have him. In July 1973, her first and only daughter, little Zuri Edwards, came into the world.

There were other acts of kindness from Patti and Armstead that showed character when something needed it. In the late 1970s, they adopted two teenagers who lived next door when the boys lost their mother, who died of cancer.

In 1989, Patti’s younger sister, Jackie Padgett, died of lung cancer. After her death, Patti and Armstead raised Jackie’s teenage children. Patti dedicated the 1991 album “Burnin” to her sister and shot a video for “If You Asked Me To” the day after her funeral.

And now, we’ve seen both sides of Patti’s story. Personally, I can honestly say it’s a shame there isn’t an award for good character, except to talk about it in the written word.

My most fervent hope is that you will come away happier reading about the good works and incredible career of this legendary singer.