‘Queen of Blues’ laid to rest in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — A blues icon and Jackson resident was laid to rest Monday.

People packed Englewood Baptist Church for a homegoing service honoring the ‘Queen of Blues’ Denise Lasalle.

“She was a very unique and rare artist,” Charles Mitchell, with the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation, said.

LaSalle, a famous blues and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer, died last week. Mitchell started as a fan who became a friend. “She was very real,” he said. “She was very direct and forward, straight talker.”

LaSalle became a star in the blues world after moving to Chicago in the 1960’s. She lived in Jackson with her husband. “She sang with passion,” David Whiteis, a friend, said. “She sang with gusto. She sang with sorrow sometimes.”

Whiteis said LaSalle asked him to write her autobiography. He called her the queen of hearts. “I know very few people in the world with a heart as deep and wide and loving as Denise LaSalle,” he said.

Mitchell said LaSalle was a pioneer in the business for women. “She’s a record label owner, produced her own records on major labels back during that time and that’s when women weren’t doing that,” he said.

LaSalle was 78-years-old.