Page 25 - Clay County: Communities, Families, & Friends 2024

25
LaBelle: Another Clay County
Root
By Dr. Cheryl Gonzalez
Lynard Skynyrd, the band that keeps on playing, has Clay
and Dade County roots.
The plane crash that changed the trajectory of rock music
claimed three lives of the iconic
band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, including
lead vocalist and founding
member Ronnie Van Zant of
Jacksonville in 1977. A decade
later, his brother, Johnny Van
Zant, revived the band and the
amazing music power of this
Southern rock group lives on.
In an interview by the editors of
Flamingo, December 14, 2023,
about the band and where he
lives, Johnny stated, “Yeah, I’m based out of Jacksonville. I
live in a little town called Middleburg. I can still burn a fire
and shoot a gun. So, there you go.” That only adds intrigue
about a contemporary well known family compared to
the times of old. Now, to bridge the knowledge gap about
another well-known musician with ties to Clay County,
we pivot to focus on Patti LaBelle whose family members
remain active and engaged.
From Ordettes, 1959; Patti LaBelle and the Blue Bells, 1961; to LaBelle
in 1983, she’s the Queen of Rock & Soul.
Because of her mother’s encouragement, Patti LaBelle,
as she is professionally known, has soared in the
popular music charts for several decades to become
a top music legend in the world. Beginning with the
“Ordettes” in 1959 to “Patti LaBelle and the Blue Bells”
in 1961, she has traversed a music industry filled with
lots of trips, twists, and turns. She has soared beyond
disappointments and challenges.
One might have been during a musical slump of the Blue
Bells when Cindy Birdsong was “poached” to sing with Diana
Ross and the Supremes, according to Angela Birdsong, a
Tampa, Florida insurance agent who was married to Cindy’s
first cousin Edwin.
Since her stellar solo career began in 1983, Patti LaBelle is
known as the “Godmother of Soul,” and “Queen of Rock
and Soul.” Hit songs include Lady Marmalade, in the 1970s,
New Attitude and Stir it Up in the 1980s, and the list goes
on. As an actress, she has played roles in A Soldier’s Story
(1984) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984); an appearance in
the Broadway gospel musical Your Arm’s Too Short to Box
with God (1982); a recurring role in the television series A
Different World (1990), and participated in Dancing with the
Stars.
She is no stranger to winning awards and receiving accolades
including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993,
induction into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame in 2009,
and the recipient of several Grammys. She is a thinker, doer,
and multidimensional spirit because with all else, she has
authored several books, including the autobiography, Don’t
Block the Blessings (1997), the diabetic cookbook LaBelle
Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About (1998), and Recipes for the
Good Life (2008). As an entrepreneur, she launched the Patti
LaBelle frozen soul food line sold by popular grocers.
None of this would have happened without the union of her
parents Mr. Henry Holte, a railroad worker, and Mrs. Bertha
Lee Robinson Hogans Holte, a housewife. A Green Cove
Springs native, Bertha first married Mr. Thomas Griffin
Hogans, Sr. (1877-1972) in Clay County. In that marriage,
Mr. Thomas Griffin Hogans, Jr. was born on October 11,
1930, and later died in 2007. When her mother subsequently
married years later to her father, she became the half-sister of
the late Mr. Thomas Griffin Hogans, Jr., well known Dunbar
and Clay High School coach and educator. Her other siblings,
Ms. Barbara Holte and Ms. Jacqueline Holte Padgett, have
also passed away. We honor those who lived to bring about
the creation that we get to enjoy and experience in the life
and form of Patti LaBelle, born Miss Patricia Louise Holte.
- Continued on the next page.