“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?/ Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” These two lascivious French language come-on strains are among the many most definitive lyrics within the 1974 Labelle Billboard Scorching 100 hit “Girl Marmalade.” They seem in a tune that has some equally inscrutable couplets together with, “Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da (hey, hey, hey)/ Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, right here (right here)/ Mocha Chocolata, ya-ya (ooh, yeah)/ Creole Girl Marmalade.
All you want to know is that the tune slaps. And that Labelle lead singer Patti LaBelle had completely no concept what she was saying when she sang these candy French nothings into our ears half a century in the past. Throughout an look on Sherri Shepherd’s syndicated daytime talker earlier this week, LaBelle, 78, made a startling admission when Shepherd requested if she knew it could be such an enormous hit on the time.
“For as soon as, I can say sure and actually imply sure,” she mentioned of her certainty that she wanted to instantly file the tune with band mates Sarah Sprint and Nona Hendryx. “I mentioned, ‘We have now to file this as a result of it’s successful,’ and it was,” she recalled telling late producer Allen Toussaint because the group headed to New Orleans to file with the legendary singer/author/producer. “I had no clue it meant ‘will you sleep with me tonight.’ I didn’t know no French. I knew it was successful… Yeah, that’s what that tune was all about. And it was successful,” she added about not realizing on the time that the chorus had such a saucy translation.
Along with it being a smash for Labelle, the tune hit No. 1 on the Scorching 100 once more in 2001 when Pink, Mya, Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim re-recorded it for the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!
Watch LaBelle’s interview under.
