Denise LaSalle

Denise LaSalle was an American blues and R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and record producer.

LaSalle sang in church choirs for local gospel groups as a small child, before moving to Chicago when she was 13, to live with her oldest brother.

She sat in with R&B musicians and wrote songs, influenced by country music as well as the blues, before winning a recording contract with Chess Records in 1967. Her first single, "A Love Reputation" was a modest regional hit.

Her song "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" (1971) reached #1 on the national R&B chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song ranked at #85 on the 1971 year-end chart, and received a gold record award.

She continued to have hits on the R&B charts, including "Love Me Right,” “Now Run and Tell That,” and "Man Sized Job.”

In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

LaSalle continued to work as a live performer into 2017, particularly at festivals, and more recently had branched out into the gospel genre.

LaSalle died January 8, 2018, in Jackson, Tennessee. She was 78.