La Forrest Cope
 | This article possibly contains original research. (December 2007) |
La Forrest Cope | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | La Forrest Cope |
| Origin | Queens, New York City, US |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1981-1992 |
La Forrest 'La La' Cope is an American songwriter and performer.[1] She is best known for writing the hit song "You Give Good Love", recorded by Whitney Houston for her 1985 self-titled debut album, which went on to sell over 25 million units worldwide.
Biography
La La was raised in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York City, United States. She took up the piano at the age of five and gave a piano recital at Carnegie Hall at the age of nine. After leaving New York's High School of Music and Art, she formed a band called Jack Sass, which played Top 40 cover versions on the club scene. As the group's reputation grew, La La began introducing more of her own songs into the repertoire before she went to Juilliard to major in composition.
In 1981, she was invited to tour with Stacy Lattisaw who opened for The Jacksons on a national tour. Following this she sang with the group Change, along with Luther Vandross, where her voice was heard on their song The Glow of Love, co-written by her childhood friend from East Elmhurst, Queens, Wayne K. Garfield. She played one of her songs, Stone Love, to another neighborhood friend, Kashif, who recorded it for his debut album in 1983.
Songwriting career
Through the 80s, La La established herself as an in-demand songwriter, penning songs for many artists including Lillo Thomas (All Of You), Melba Moore (Living For Your Love and It's Really Love), Glenn Jones (Show Me and Stay), Giorge Pettus (My Night For Love) and a solo release Into the Night which was featured on the Beat Street soundtrack album.
Through Kashif, she had a couple of her songs recorded by new Arista signing Whitney Houston (You Give Good Love and Thinking About You) before signing to the label herself (both Kashif and Houston's label) as an artist. In 1987 she released her debut album, La La, including duets with Glenn Jones and Bernard Wright and production by 1980s R&B heavyweights Full Force. She also duetted with Jermaine Jackson on a cover of Climie Fisher's Rise To The Occasion for his 1989 album Don't Take It Personal.
La La continued to write and produce for major artists including Carl Anderson and the top 10 US R&B hit Secret Lady for Stephanie Mills. After a move to Motown Records, she released her second (and last to date) solo album La La Means I Love You! in 1991, which included her version of her much-covered R&B classic Show Me as well as contributions from Rene Moore, Marcus Miller and Lenny White.
Discography
Albums
- La La (1987)
- La La Means I Love You! (1991)
Singles
- "Into The Night (1984)
- "(If You) Love Me Just A Little (1986)
- "My Love Is On The Money" (1987)
- "I Got A Thing For You" (1987)
- "We'll Keep Striving" (1987)
- "Always" (1991)
References
- ^ Bultman, Scott. "Biography: La La". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Album and Singles Discography. Discogs.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020
External Links