We could all use a little “Love” this holiday season! Rolling Stone Magazine calls Darlene Love one of the greatest singers of all time. This rebel in stilettos performs seasonal favorites such as “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” as well as her hits.
It’s no wonder the New York Times raves: “Darlene Love’s thunderbolt voice is as embedded in the history of rock and roll as Eric Clapton’s guitar or Bob Dylan’s lyrics.” Through the years, Darlene Love continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her warm, gracious stage presence and sensational performances.
Since the early sixties, as part of Phil Spector’s ‘wall of sound’ hit factory, this great lady has done it all…from major motion pictures like the highly successful Lethal Weapon series to Broadway hits like Hairspray and Grease. She even starred as herself in Leader Of The Pack, credited as Broadway’s first ‘jukebox musical.’ Darlene has appeared on numerous television programs, running the gamut from her weekly appearances on Shindig to a recent guest spot on the PBS special entitled Women Who Rock.
An autobiographical film is currently on the drawing board and another recent film Twenty Feet from Stardom that prominently features Darlene, just landed the Academy Award this March. When Darlene went on stage to be greeted with the Oscar on behalf of all the film participants, she burst into song and won a standing ovation from the Academy audience led by the wildly applauding Bill Murray. Soon after this, it was announced by Oprah Winfrey that a film on Darlene’s life was in production and will star Toni Braxton as a young Darlene Love. This is expected for early 2015. Darlene is currently working on a new CD being produced by Stevie Van Sandt. Steve wrote a special song for her, “All Alone on Christmas,” which Darlene sang on screen in Home Alone 2 – a holiday TV favorite every year.
Darlene’s background vocals as a lead member of The Blossoms for Tom Jones, The Righteous Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye, and Elvis Presley (to name but a few) set the stage for her emergence as a star in her own right. Her Billboard hits include: “He’s A Rebel,” “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Gets Home,” “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” and the #1 holiday classic “Christmas Baby Please Come Home,” a song that she performs annually with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Symphony Orchestra on The Late Show With David Letterman (December marked her 27th appearance).
In 2011, Darlene Love received her industry’s highest award when Better Midler, a great fan of her work, inducted her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the celebration, the two ladies enjoyed performing “He’s A Rebel” together. As part of the festivities, Darlene also sang “He’s A Fine, Fine Boy” backed by another distinguished fan, Bruce Springsteen.
Rolling Stone Magazine has proclaimed Darlene Love to be “one of the greatest singers of all time” and that certainly rings true, but perhaps Paul Shaffer says it even more concisely: “Darlene Love is Rock N’ Roll!”
