Talk:Harlettes

Vandross

To the IP - please read the lead of the article. The Harlette's are Bette's backup singers for her live stage shows. They are not people who worked with her on her albums. Luther Vandrosswas not a Harlette. MarnetteD|Talk 16:33, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Recently, there's been an interview trending from the Rosie O'Donnell Show where Luther Vandross says he was always the fourth Harlette. He said he would stand behind the curtain with his monitor and microphone because he was very shy. It was a posted from his official Tiktok account. That's the reason there was an interest in this alleged detail; it's why I'm here too. Lol -Teammm ^talk? 13:22, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

He's the "fourth Harlette" in the same way that Billy Preston was "the fifth Beatle". He was never a recognized member of the group. If he provided background vocals for some Bette Midler performances, then the article Luther Vandross is the correct place to note that. It's probably not worth mentioning here. --Jayron32 13:24, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

Luther toured with Bette's Divine Madness show, so it wasn't just albums and television appearances. However he was credited as a backing vocalist not a Harlette. So this should put it to rest. 2403:5802:B033:0:9CE9:E902:3F6:8A9B (talk) 02:59, 20 July 2025 (UTC)

The Harlettes were formed in June 1972

An interview with Melissa Manchester published in the Macon Telegraph August 16, 1973 quoted Melissa as saying she met Bette and mentioned to her that she knew about her upcoming Carnegie Hall concert and that she would like to sing with her and that's how the Harlettes were formed. The article explicitly states June 1972. It also states she left New Years Day 1973. Basically after the Philharmonic concert on Dec 31, 1972

This wikipedia article should be updated to reflect this. I can easily send the aricle, not sure how to link here. 2403:5802:B033:0:9CE9:E902:3F6:8A9B (talk) 02:33, 20 July 2025 (UTC)