Brenda Holloway

Brenda Holloway is a singer and songwriter, signed, initially, to the Motown Records imprint in the early 1960's. Brenda's sister is the singer Patrice Holloway. She was the oldest of three siblings, whose parents are Wade and Johnnie Mae (Fossett) Holloway.

Born in 1946 in California, Brenda and her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was two years old. In Los Angeles, Brenda began singing in her church choir and took up playing the violin.
Patrice was born when Brenda was five, and by the time Brenda had reached 14 years of age, Brenda and Patrice began singing backup vocals for various R&B acts in L.A., including an early version of the group the Whispers.

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From Wikipedia

In 1962, she made her recording debut with the single, "Hey Fool", released on the small Donna record label. That same year, at the age of 16, she recorded the first version of Ed Cobb's ballad, "Every Little Bit Hurts", released as a single by Del-Fi Records. She also recorded duets with Hal Davis for the Minasa and Snap labels, and worked with other local recording artists. After graduating from Jordan High School, she also studied music at Compton Community College. In late 1963, she was invited by Davis to a deejay's party which Motown CEO Berry Gordy Jr. was attending,and lip-synced to Mary Wells' hit "You Beat Me to the Punch". Gordy was impressed by Holloway's looks, and subsequently by her vocal power, and opted to sign her to Motown. Holloway was aged 17 at the time, and was Motown's first West Coast signing.

After signing with Motown's Tamla division, Holloway was given the option to either move to Detroit to record at Motown's Hitsville studios or stay in Los Angeles where Motown began hiring West Coast staffers. Holloway chose to stay in Los Angeles for the time being, and her early Motown records were produced there by Hal Davis and Marc Gordon. Holloway's first recording was "Every Little Bit Hurts", a song she had recorded two years earlier while working as a session musician. Holloway was reluctant to record the song, and later said she was upset during the sessions; several takes were recorded before producers felt that Holloway had hit her mark. Released in April 1964, three months before Holloway's eighteenth birthday, the song peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, winning her a spot on Motown's Motortown Revue. She was regarded as a highly talented singer. According to one biographical article,

In early 1967, Tamla released "Just Look What You've Done", which produced Holloway's best chart showing in two years, reaching no. 69 on the pop chart and no. 21 on the R&B chart. Later in 1967, the label finally issued a Holloway composition, "You've Made Me So Very Happy", which she co-wrote with her sister Patrice. Berry Gordy was allowed to change a few notes on the musical composition, giving him a songwriting credit together with the record's producer, Frank Wilson. This led to Holloway's third top forty pop single, with the song reaching no. 39 on the Hot 100 and no. 40 on the R&B chart.

Her second album, The Artistry of Brenda Holloway, was released in 1968. However, midway through a recording session with Smokey Robinson in Detroit, she left the studio and returned to Los Angeles. Motown's PR later released a statement on Holloway's departure, saying she had left to "sing for God", but her real reasons were her disillusionment with Motown and with her management, and her fear of being drawn into a lifestyle which conflicted with her religious convictions. In 1969, Holloway sued Gordy for monetary reasons stemming from the success of Blood, Sweat & Tears' cover version of her single, "You've Made Me So Very Happy", which the group had taken to no. 2 on the US pop chart that year. Holloway eventually won her case.

Brenda Holloway recorded for Holland, Dozier and Holland's labels Invictus and Music Merchant in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  With her sister Patrice, she also continued session work into the 1970s, including several sessions with British rock singer Joe Cocker. She married a preacher, Albert Davis, in Los Angeles in 1969, and the couple had four children, Beoir, Unita, Christy and Dontese. In 1980, Holloway released a gospel album for Birthright Records, Brand New!, that went unnoticed.  After several unhappy years, she and Albert Davis divorced in the mid-1980s. Her records remained popular on Britain's Northern soul club circuit, and many tracks were reissued on compilation CDs. In 1987, Holloway returned to a secular singing career, recording for producer Ian Levine's UK label Motorcity Records, which recorded material featuring former Motown acts.[3] Three years later, Holloway issued the album All It Takes.

She recorded the song "On The Rebound" as a duet with Jimmy Ruffin 1989, then the album All It Takes in 1991.

However, Holloway only returned to a performing career after the death of her old Motown friend Mary Wells in 1992, when she restarted performing in the Los Angeles area and in Britain, often in tandem with Brenton Wood,  and on one occasion with Blood, Sweat & Tears. She also spoke at schools, and at UCLA in 1993. In 1999, she released the album It's A Woman's World for the Volt label.

Holloway continues to perform as of 2012. Her last album, My Love is Your Love, was released in 2003. Several of Holloway's classic recordings, including "Every Little Bit Hurts", "When I'm Gone" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" were covered by a variety of acts over the years. In 2003, Vivian Green played Holloway in a cameo appearance on the TV show, American Dreams, where she sang "Every Little Bit Hurts," and, in 2005, Alicia Keys famously covered "Every Little Bit Hurts" for her Unplugged special. In 2011, Holloway recorded a duet with Cliff Richard on his Soulicious album, but did not perform with Richard on his accompanying concert tour in Britain.

In 1999 Brenda Holloway was honored with the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award.


 






       BRENDA HOLLOWAY STORY ON THE CHANCELLOR OF SOUL'S SOUL FACTS SHOW