One man singing to the heavens in praise of Patti LaBelle’s sweet potato pies has caused a frenzy at Walmart.
Pies from the R&B diva — who rose to fame in the ‘70s and ‘80s with classic slow jams like “On My Own” and the Allen Toussaint-produced classic “Lady Marmalade — flew off shelves at the “rate of one per second during the 72 hour period from Thursday through Saturday,” a Walmart representative told FOX 11. The rep also estimated that 2 million pounds of California sweet potatoes are necessary to keep up with the demand for the pies, which are being exclusively sold at Walmart.
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Enter James Wright, a charismatic entertainer who posted his singing taste test of LaBelle’s pie online. In between munching on the dessert and dishing out high notes, Wright gave LaBelle’s delicacy a glowing co-sign. The video has even racked up upward of 9 million views on his Facebook page.
“You’ll turn into Patti after eating this,” the LaBelle stan said just before singing a few lines from LaBelle’s “Isn’t It a Shame,” the Nelly-sampled ditty from her 1976 LP Chameleon. The veteran songbird also shared it on her own Facebook page, saying, “Thank you for the review!”
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See Wright hit all the right notes in his musical sales pitch for Patti’s pies below.
Patti LaBelle I have to say girl you did it with this pie.
Posted by James Wright Chanel on Wednesday, November 11, 2015