Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her local church choir. In 1962, she began recording with producer

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

who renamed her Darlene Love. She sang lead on "

He's a Rebel "He's a Rebel" is a song written by Gene Pitney that was originally recorded by Vikki Carr and by the girl group the Blossoms. Produced by Phil Spector, the Blossoms' version was issued as a single credited to the Crystals, which topped the ...

" and "

He's Sure the Boy I Love "He's Sure the Boy I Love" is a 1962 single by The Crystals. The song was originally recorded by The Blossoms but credited to The Crystals. On the ''Billboard'' charts in 1963, "He's Sure the Boy I Love" peaked at #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

," which were credited to

the Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", " ...

. She was soon a highly sought-after

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and worked with many rock and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

legends of 1960s, including

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

, Bill Medley,

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

and Sonny and Cher. As an actress, Love performed in various Broadway productions. She had a recurring role as Roger Murtaugh's wife in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. Love was invited annually by

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

to sing her song " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on the television show ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' for the Christmas holidays. Letterman called Love the "Christmas Queen". Ranked among ''Rolling Stone'''s 100 Greatest Singers, Love was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 2011. Love is featured in the Oscar-winning documentary film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'' (2013), for which she won a Grammy Award.

Early life

Love was born Darlene Wright on July 26, 1941, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, to Ellen Maddox and Reverend Joe Wright. Her younger sister

Edna Wright Edna Wright (February 2, 1945 – September 12, 2020) was an American singer, best known as the lead singer of Honey Cone, the girl group that went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with the song "Want Ads" in 1971. She was the younger sister ...

grew up to be the lead singer of the group Honey Cone. She grew up mostly in Los Angeles, but also spent a few years of her youth in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As a minister's daughter, she grew up listening to gospel music and was a dedicated member of her church. Wright began singing with her local

church choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

at age ten in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88, ...

. During choir practice she caught the attention of choir director Cora Martin-Moore. After singing for Martin-Moore she was asked to go to the Music Mart where she sang and did some broadcasts. As it was her first musical experience, it was also the main influence for her to pursue a music career.

Music career

Early career

While still in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(1957) she sang with the Echoes, a mixed sex doo-wop group. She was then invited to join a little-known

called the Blossoms. In 1962, the Blossoms were hired to sing on a session by producer

. His girl group,

, couldn't make it to Los Angeles in time for the session, so Wright was paid $5,000 to sing lead on "

." This was Wright's first time on a Spector recording. The single, credited to the Crystals, was hurriedly released by Spector on Philles Records to get his version of the

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

song onto the market before that of Vikki Carr. The ghost release of this single came as a total surprise to the Crystals who were an experienced and much traveled girl harmony group in their own right, but they were nevertheless required to perform and promote the new single on television and on tour as if it were their own. The single reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1962. Following the release of "He's a Rebel," Wright signed a deal with Spector, who renamed her Darlene Love. She recorded "

," which she thought would be released under her name, but Spector credited it to the Crystals.

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...

, who co-wrote the song with her husband

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

was unaware that Love had sung on the track: "It all came out later. I think it was a terrible thing to do to her." Spector had Love sing "

Da Doo Ron Ron "Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group The Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy covered the song in 1977 and ...

" in the studio, but he decided to record it with another singer at the last minute. Love recorded the track " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the 1963 holiday compilation album, ''

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector'' (originally released as ''A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records'') is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles 4005 in 1963. Spector treate ...

''. The song was written by

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

and Ellie Greenwich, along with Phil Spector, with the intention of being sung by Ronnie Spector of

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...

. According to Love, Ronnie Spector was not able to put as much emotion into the song as needed. Instead, Love was brought into the studio to record the song, which became a large success over time and Love's signature tune. As a member of the Blossoms, Love contributed backing vocals behind many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including the Ronettes' "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in ...

Shelley Fabares Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom '' The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitco ...

' " Johnny Angel", Bobby "Boris" Pickett's " Monster Mash",

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

's version of " That's Life", and the Crystals' "

". The Blossoms recorded singles, usually with little success, on Capitol 1957-58 re-Darlene Love Challenge 1961-62,

OKeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

1963, Reprise 1966-67, Ode 1967, MGM 1968,

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

1969-70, and Lion 1972.) As a solo artist, Love also contributed backing vocals to the Ronettes' " Baby, I Love You". She was also part of a trio called Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who recorded Spector's version of " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", an Oscar-winning song from the 1946

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film ''

Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted b ...

'', which got into the Top 10 in 1963. The Blossoms landed a weekly part on '' Shindig!'', one of the top music shows of the era. They also appeared on Johnny Rivers' hits, including " Poor Side of Town" " Baby I Need Your Loving" and " The Tracks of My Tears". The Blossoms were part of the highly acclaimed '' Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special'', which aired on NBC. Love and the Blossoms sang

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...

for Sharon Marie (Esparza) (a

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

act), as well as John Phillips' solo album ''John, Wolfking of L.A.'', recorded in 1969. DarleneLove02

Into the 1970s Love continued to work as a backup singer, before taking a break in order to raise a family. In 1973, she recorded vocals as a

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

along with Michelle Phillips, for the Cheech & Chong single "

Basketball Jones "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" is a song by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album '' Los Cochinos''. Background Sung in falsetto by Cheech Marin, playing the title character Tyrone (as in "tie-your-own") Shoelace ...

", which peaked at No. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

1980s return

Love returned to music in the early 1980s and to an appreciative audience she thought might have long since forgotten her. She had been performing at venues like the Roxy in Los Angeles, and it was a conversation with Steven Van Zandt that greased the wheels for her to go to New York and begin performing there in 1982, at places like The Bottom Line. She also sang "OOO Wee Baby" in the 1980 movie ''

The Idolmaker ''The Idolmaker'' is a 1980 American musical drama starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano. The film is loosely based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci who discovered, among others, ...

''. Along with performing in small venues, Love worked as a maid in Beverly Hills. One day while she was cleaning one of these homes, she heard her song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on the radio. She took this as a sign that she needed to change her life and go back to singing. In the mid-1980s she portrayed herself in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-nominated jukebox musical '' Leader of the Pack'', which featured the iconic rock and roll songs written by Ellie Greenwich, many of them for the young Love. The showstopping number of that show, "

River Deep - Mountain High A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

", had been recorded by Phil Spector with

Ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname * ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

. ''Leader of the Pack'' commenced as a revue at the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

nightclub The Bottom Line, as did the later show about Love's life, ''Portrait of a Singer'', which never made the move uptown. ''Portrait'' included covers of " A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Don't Make Me Over", as well as "River Deep, Mountain High" and original music from some of the instrumental writers of early rock and roll, including

and

. Love contributed a cover of the Hollywood Argyles song " Alley Oop" to the soundtrack of the 1984 film '' Bachelor Party''. In 1986, Love's second chance came when she was asked to sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on

's Christmas show, which became a yearly tradition. In 1987, Love sang backup for U2's remake of " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)".

Later career

In 1988, Love released the album ''Paint Another Picture'', which included an update of her old hit "He's Sure the Man I Love", by Mann and Weill, as well as a ballad written especially for her, "I've Never Been the Same," by Judy Wieder. The album did not make the US charts. In 1990,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

invited Love and her sister Edna Wright as her background vocalists for the Heart of Stone Tour. Love released a minor single in 1992 with "

All Alone on Christmas "All Alone on Christmas" is a song written and arranged by Steve Van Zandt, and recorded by Darlene Love with members of both The E Street Band and The Miami Horns. It was originally featured on the soundtrack of '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ...

", written and composed by Steven Van Zandt, which can be found on the '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' soundtrack. The song was also included in the British film ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television p ...

''. Love also contributed vocals to the soundtrack of the film '' Jingle All the Way''. In 1993, Love sued Spector for unpaid royalties and was awarded $250,000. Love alongside Rob Hoerburger, editor and writer for the ''New York Times'' wrote her autobiography titled ''My Name Is Love'', published in 1998. In the memoir, Love writes about her life in the music industry, her years of struggle, and her present projects. Love continues to do a Christmas show every year in New York City, which is always capped by "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". In 2007, she released ''It's Christmas of Course'', an album of Christmas-themed cover versions including " Happy Xmas (War is Over)" by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and " Thanks for Christmas" by

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing i ...

. Love performed with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

and the E-Street Band in November 2009 at the

25th Anniversary Concert at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. Love was the musical guest on ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on May 7, 2007, performing " River Deep-Mountain High." Love is featured in the documentary film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'' (2013), which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

and went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary at the

86th Academy Awards The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

. ''20 Feet from Stardom'' also won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Music Film, with the award being presented to the featured artists as well as the production crew. Love recorded a duet, "He's Sure the Boy I Love", with

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

on the latter's 2014 studio album ''

It's the Girls! ''It's the Girls!'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on November 4, 2014. Midler's first release with the label since '' Bette'' (2000), the album is a collection representing t ...

'', a collection of songs paying tribute to

s. In August 2014, the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show ho ...

(OWN) announced their intention to develop a film based on Love's life, starring singer Toni Braxton. However, no further news has surfaced about this proposal. Love's most recent album ''Introducing Darlene Love'' was released September 18, 2015 on Steve Van Zandt's label, Wicked Cool Records. There are 10 songs on the album, including two new songs by

, and covers of Joan Jett and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

songs, among others. In 2016, Love began touring her new album across the United States. Love recorded her first solo video concert on February 23, 2010, at the

NJPAC The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors ...

. ''Darlene Love - The Concert of Love'' was released as a CD and DVD later that year. The concert was also broadcast on select public television stations.

Acting career

In the late 1980s and also in the 1990s, Love also began an acting career, playing Trish Murtaugh, the wife of

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

's character, in the four '' Lethal Weapon'' movies. Love has held many star roles in various Broadway productions. She acted and sang in '' Grease'', in the short-lived musical adaptation of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's '' Carrie'', and starred as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's '' Hairspray'' from August 2005 till April 2008. She later reprised the role in the Hollywood Bowl production of the show in 2011. In 2019, she appeared in the Netflix original movie '' Holiday Rush''. In 2020, she appeared and sang in the Netflix original movie '' The Christmas Chronicles 2''.

Christmas television performances

Love performed the song " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on the last pre-Christmas episode of ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compa ...

'' ( NBC) which aired December 10, 1986 and then annually (with the exception of 2007) on ''

'' ( CBS) beginning with (air date) December 23, 1994. Her final Christmas appearance was on December 19, 2014, nine days after the official announcement that the show's finale would be in May 2015. Letterman has stated that the annual performance is his favorite part of Christmas. She was dubbed by Letterman as the "Christmas Queen". Due to the

2007 Writers Guild of America strike 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

, Love was unable to perform on the Letterman show in 2007; a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown instead. Since 2015, Love has performed the song annually on ABC's '' The View''. She has usually performed the song as a duet, being joined by

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

in 2016,

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

in 2017, and

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

in 2018. Love also performed "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" in season six, episode 10 of the Fox television series ''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Television for Fox that originally aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around a kooky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zoo ...

'' (2016). Love was a special guest on the December 17, 2005, broadcast of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', singing " White Christmas" with the ''SNL'' band and providing the vocals for a Robert Smigel cartoon entitled "Christmastime for the Jews."

Awards and accomplishments

In 1995, Love received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award. In 2008, Love was ranked No. 84 on ''Rolling Stone'''s 100 Greatest Singers list. On December 15, 2010, it was announced that Love had been chosen for induction into the

. On March 14, 2011, Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a speech by

. Midler said "she changed my view of the world, listening to those songs, you had to dance, you had to move, you had to keep looking for the rebel boy." Near tears, Love noted that she would turn 70 later that year, and thanked Spector "for recognizing my talent and making me the main voice in his Wall of Sound." Her speech elicited a standing ovation. Later, she sang "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" with Springsteen providing a guitar solo. In 2015, Love won her first Grammy Award for Best Music Film for the documentary ''20 Feet From Stardom''. In 2015, Love was featured in the September issue of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

''. In the music section of the magazine, it introduces Love's five decades of musical accomplishments such as different solos and albums. Love provided the inaugural performance to christen the opening of the Clermont Performing Arts Center in Clermont, Florida on September 26, 2015.

Discography

Solo albums

Compilations

Live albums

Other appearances

*1963: ''Today's Hits'' (Philles Records 4004) *1963: ''

'' (Philles Records 4005) *1977: ''Phil Spector's Greatest Hits'' (Warner/Spector Records 9104) *1978: ''Lakeshore Music presents Rock and Roll Forever'' (Warner Special Products #2508) (same as above release) *1985: ''Leader of the Pack'' Original Broadway Cast (Elektra Records 60420) *1990: ''Dick Tracy: Music from and inspired by the film'' (Sire/Warner Bros. Records 26236) *1991: '' Back to Mono (1958–1969)'' (ABKCO Records 7118) (boxed set) *1992: ''

A Very Special Christmas 2 ''A Very Special Christmas 2'' is the second in the '' A Very Special Christmas'' series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 20, 1992, and production was overseen by ...

'' (A&M/PolyGram Records 450 003) *1998: ''Grease Is the Word'' (Rhino/Atlantic Records)

Singles

Incomplete list of recordings.

Filmography

Notes

a. Some sources say 1938; see talk page discussion

References

External links

* * * * * *
History of Rock and Roll: Darlene Love

Darlene Love Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Darlene 1941 births Living people Grammy Award winners 20th-century African-American women singers American contraltos American women pop singers American rhythm and blues singers Philles Records artists Musicians from Hawthorne, California Singers from California 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Actresses from Greater Los Angeles