This is the sort of R&B and soul release that was common in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It's okay but it doesn't really stand out.
Denise LaSalle, born Ora Denise Allen (1934-2018), was from Mississippi; as a child, she picked cotton to help support her family. She was working as a bar staff person in Chicago when she was signed to her first recording contract in 1963.
"Trapped by a Thing Called Love" was her sixth single release. It reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 but made it all the way to #1 on the R&B chart. She made it to the R&B charts with several other singles between 1972 and 1980, including three others that made the top ten. In 1985, she reached #6 in Britain with her cover of Rockin' Sidney's "My Toot Toot", which appears to be zydeco music performed with 1980's style synthesizers.
She continued to work away at her career after that, releasing a total of 29 albums up until 2010. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011.
Created October 22, 2026.