If Only You Knew - Overview

Overview

By 1981, Patti LaBelle had endured a 20-year career in music experiencing minor and major success, first with her longtime group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles (later known as Labelle), and then brief commercial success in her now-dormant solo career. While LaBelle had enjoyed critical success with her self-titled solo album and four subsequent albums following that on Epic Records, none of the records translated to commercial success, as had been a problem during her long tenure with Labelle, who only had one major hit, "Lady Marmalade", in 1975.

While respected for her longevity in the music business, LaBelle's recordings were not easily marketable as producers struggled to find a hit for the singer. While LaBelle was regarded as an exciting live performer, none of the nine singles LaBelle released as a solo artist failed to hit the top of either the pop and R&B charts, and her four albums with Epic had performed only marginally successful. Seeking a change in direction, CBS Records, the parent label for Epic Records, transferred the singer's contract to Philadelphia International Records, co-founded by the singer's hometown friends, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The label helped to produce her first album for PIR, The Spirit's In It. Due to PIR's fallout with pop audiences at the end of the seventies and again struggling to find a recording suitable to become a major hit for the singer, the album failed to produce hits like her previous four offerings.