Trapped By A Thing Called Love Denise LaSalle

• 1Trapped By A Thing Called Love02:39
• 2Now Run And Tell That03:19
• 3Heartbreaker Of The Year02:49
• 4Goody Goody Getter02:20
• 5Catch Me If You Can03:04
• 6Hung Up, Strung Out02:38
• 7Do Me Right02:56
• 8The Deeper I Go (The Better It Gets)02:25
• 9If You Should Lose Me (You'll Lose A Good Thing)02:37
• 10Keep It Coming02:32
• 11It's Too Late03:11
• Total Runtime30:30

Info for Trapped By A Thing Called Love

Denise LaSalle’s seminal debut album for Westbound Records, released in 1972, introduced the world at large to a storming force in blues. At Westbound, Denise refined her Chicago Blues roots and recorded Trapped By A Thing Called Love, adding contemporary and soulful arrangements to her flawless songs. The result garnered huge hits, a massive fan base, and put Ms. LaSalle on track to being crowned “Queen Of The Blues.” It remains an undisputed classic of the genre.

Southern soul LaSalle style is born with this set of Stax grooves and assured vocal prowess. LaSalle, the Diva, wrote 7 of the 11 tracks including the #1 R & B smash "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" (also reached #13 Pop). The album reached #38 R & B and #120 Pop in Billboard.

"Kicking off her Westbound stay with a gem, Denise LaSalle gave the world a new take on Southern soul with this late-nite entrée of Stax-y grooves and tales of love on the rocks. Trapped By a Thing Called Love and her two other Westbound LPs (On the Loose and Here I Am Again) set the pace for other Dixie divas like Millie Jackson and Betty Wright, thanks to the finely gauged originals and heavy dose of swagger they contained. The symphonic soul charts of both Gene "Bowlegs" Miller and Hi Records arranger Willie Mitchell (Al Green, O.V. Wright) are on display, too, and the fare ranges from a few choice covers (Barbara Lynn's "You'll Miss a Good Thing") to now-canonized R&B sides like the LaSalle-penned title track. Once available on vinyl and as a two-fer disc that also included On the Loose, Trapped By a Thing Called Love is lost in the vaults once again and awaiting a re-release makeover befitting its classic status." (Stephen Cook, AMG)

Denise LaSalle

Digitally remastered

Denise LaSalle
The "Queen Of Soul Blues" is a title that rightly belongs to this survivor who's been recording for over three decades. Not only does she have a phat, supple blues voice but she's a great songwriter and even a producer.

She was born July 16, 1939, as Denise Craig. LaSalle moved north to Chicago when she was in her early twenties and would attend shows at the Regal Theatre, always returning home to write songs. She got to know blues musicians and began giving her songs to them, until one day a Chess Records executive stopped by at Mixer's Lounge, where LaSalle was working as a bar maid. He listened to one of her songs and took it down to Chess Records, and the company later signed her as a vocalist, but never recorded her. Two years later, LaSalle recorded and produced her own record with the help of Billy "The Kid" Emerson, the Chess executive who'd originally shown an interest in her. After the record made some waves on local radio, Chess stepped in and purchased the master and took it to Europe. Meanwhile, LaSalle continued writing songs and sitting in with blues musicians around the Chicago clubs.

LaSalle's first big hit came about in 1971 when her "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" broke on the radio in Chicago and then Detroit. That record was for the Westbound label and then she signed with ABC Records in 1975, cutting three albums in three years until the label was sold to MCA. After MCA dropped her because of the label's "difficulty in promoting black acts" at that time, she continued performing as much as she could in Chicago and Memphis. In 1980, a Malaco executive called to ask her to write a song for Z.Z. Hill. A positive relationship with the company was quickly developed, which resulted in LaSalle recording 11 discs for the label, including the classic "Lady In The Street".

This album contains no booklet.