FILE - This Feb. 18, 2009 file photo shows R&B singer Denise LaSalle, a native of Leflore County, Miss., speaking with some lawmakers after being honored by the Senate at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. LaSalle, whose hit "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" topped the R&B charts in 1971, has died.JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Singer and songwriter Denise LaSalle, whose hit "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" topped the R&B charts in 1971, has died. She was 78.
Musician and producer Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell, a close family friend of LaSalle's, said Tuesday that the singer died in Jackson, Tennessee.
Media outlets report LaSalle suffered from health issues in recent months that resulted in the amputation of her right leg after she suffered a fall.
Along with "Trapped by a Thing Called Love," she is also well known for the song "Now Run and Tell That." She had a string of successful singles in the 1970s and the early 1980s.
LaSalle, a Mississippi native, founded the National Association for the Preservation of the Blues to bring more attention to the "soul/blues" style in 1986.