Ora Denise Allen (July 16, 1934 – January 8, 2018), known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who, since the death of Koko Taylor, had been recognized as the "Queen of the Blues".
Her best known songs were "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" and "Down Home Blues".
LaSalle, the youngest of eight children, was born Ora Denise Allen on July 16, 1934, near Sidon, Mississippi in an area then known as The Island, to Nathaniel A. Allen Sr. and Nancy Cooper. Her family worked as sharecroppers, and she had to pick cotton and take up other paid labor to support her family.

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