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Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter, who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the soul hits, "
Every Little Bit Hurts "Every Little Bit Hurts" was originally a 1964 hit single for Motown soul singer Brenda Holloway, written by Ed Cobb. Background Though she was against recording the song again (she recorded it a couple of years before signing with Motown), she ...
", " When I'm Gone", and "
You've Made Me So Very Happy "You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label. The song was later a huge hit for jazz-rock ...
." The latter, which she co-wrote, was later widely popularized when it became a Top Ten
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
for
Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
. She left Motown after four years, at the age of 22, and largely retired from the music industry until the 1990s, after her recordings had become popular on the British " Northern soul" scene.


Biography


Early life and career

She was born in
Atascadero Atascadero ( Spanish for "Mire") is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, about equidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco on U.S. Route 101. Atascadero is part of the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metropolitan statistical area, which ...
, California on June 26, 1946, the eldest of three children to Wade and Johnnie Mae (Fossett) Holloway. In 1948, she and her infant brother, Wade, Jr., moved with their parents to the
Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People * Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' * Watts family, six cha ...
section of Los Angeles where her sister,
Patrice Patrice is a given name meaning ''noble'' or '' patrician'', related to the names Patrick and Patricia. In English, Patrice is often a feminine first name. In French, it is used as a masculine first name. Popularity In the United States, the po ...
, was born in 1951. Brenda took up violin, flute and piano and sang in her church choir, as well as developing a love of classical music. At the age of 14, she began working on demonstration
records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...
and singing
backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...
for Los Angeles-based R&B acts, and with the young Patrice. 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 Edward C. "Ed" Cobb (February 25, 1938 – September 19, 1999) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most notably during the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for writing the song "Tainted Love" for Gloria Jones, which later ...
's ballad, "Every Little Bit Hurts", released as a single by Del-Fi Records. She also recorded duets with
Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Moto ...
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 Compton College is a public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after the partnership ...
. In late 1963, she was invited by Davis to a
deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
's party which Motown CEO
Berry Gordy Jr. Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...
was attending, and
lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
ed to Mary Wells' hit "
You Beat Me to the Punch "You Beat Me to the Punch" is a soul single by Motown singer Mary Wells, released on the Motown label in 1962. It was co-written by Smokey Robinson of the Miracles, who was responsible for the majority of hits released by Wells - and another Mirac ...
". Gordy was impressed by Holloway's looks, and subsequently by her vocal power, and opted to sign her to Motown. Holloway was 17 at the time, and was Motown's first West Coast signing.


The Motown years

After signing with Motown's Tamla division, Holloway was given the option either to 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 The Motortown Revue was the name given to the package concert tours of Motown artists in the 1960s. Early tours featured Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, Barrett Strong, and The Contours as headlining acts, and gave the ...
. She was regarded as a highly talented singer. According to one biographical article,
Holloway's vocal style was very relaxed, yet she was able to create tension and exercise control. She was masterful in her ability to produce warm, rich timbres. With innovative articulation, a deft control of dynamics, and a flair for dramatic performances, Holloway was a singer's singer.
Later in 1964, Holloway won a spot on Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars" tour on the condition that then-struggling Motown girl group The Supremes join them. During the tour, the Supremes' star rose following the release of " Where Did Our Love Go". Motown issued Holloway's debut album, ''Every Little Bit Hurts'', and released the modestly successful ballad, "I'll Always Love You", which reached no. 60 on the pop chart. When Mary Wells, who was Motown's first solo hit-maker, left the label, Motown began billing Holloway as the next female solo star and soon had Holloway recording several songs originally intended for Wells, including her next top 40 single, " When I'm Gone", which like many of Wells' hit singles, had been composed by Smokey Robinson. This time, Holloway recorded the song in Detroit. Released in early 1965, the song reached number 25 on the Hot 100 and number 13 on the R&B chart. Motown then issued her version of a song that had originally been recorded by Wells, "
Operator Operator may refer to: Mathematics * A symbol indicating a mathematical operation * Logical operator or logical connective in mathematical logic * Operator (mathematics), mapping that acts on elements of a space to produce elements of another s ...
". The song only produced a modest showing and Holloway began dealing with issues with the label. Holloway was one of the few Motown artists not to attend the label's grooming school and was sometimes chastised by some of Motown's staff, including Gordy and Robinson, for performing and dressing "too much like Tina Turner". Some of the Detroit staff regarded her as temperamental and a "troublemaker", and the company increasingly focused attention on its most successful acts, notably the Supremes. A follow-up album, to have been called ''Hurtin' and Cryin'', was scrapped by the label, and Holloway began to consider that she was being disregarded by the company, perhaps in part because she was not based in Detroit. However, she gained an opening spot on The Beatles' US tour later in 1965, a repeat of the group having Mary Wells open for them on their UK tour earlier that year. Unlike Wells and
Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwr ...
, who also opened for The Beatles, Holloway's performances as an opening act were taped and recorded when The Beatles held their landmark
Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. Later in 1967, the label finally issued a Holloway composition, "
You've Made Me So Very Happy "You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label. The song was later a huge hit for jazz-rock ...
", 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 Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
' 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.


Later years

Brenda Holloway recorded for Holland, Dozier and Holland's labels
Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...
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 British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the devel ...
singer
Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
. 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 Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
'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 Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...
, which recorded material featuring former Motown acts. 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 on the album ''All It Takes'', two years later, 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 Alfred Jesse Smith (born July 26, 1941), better known as Brenton Wood, is an American singer and songwriter known for his two 1967 hit singles, " The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and " Gimme Little S ...
, and on one occasion with Blood, Sweat & Tears. She also spoke at schools, and at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in 1993. In 1999, she released the album ''It's A Woman's World'' for the Volt label. 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 Vivian Sakiyyah Green (born May 22, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist. Early life Green was born May 22, 1979 in the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, and took an interest in singing, playing the piano, and ...
played Holloway in a cameo appearance on the TV show, ''
American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons & 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with man ...
'', where she sang "Every Little Bit Hurts," and, in 2005,
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...
famously covered "Every Little Bit Hurts" for her ''
Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...
'' special. In 2011, Holloway recorded a duet with
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
on his ''Soulicious'' album, but did not perform with Richard on his accompanying concert tour in Britain. In 1999, Holloway was honored with the
Rhythm & Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with en ...
's prestigious ''Pioneer Award''. In 2005, she appeared on the PBS concert TV special, ''My Music: Salute to Early Motown''.


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Every Little Bit Hurts'' (1964) * ''The Artistry of Brenda Holloway'' (1968) * ''Brand New!'' (1980) * ''All It Takes'' (1990) * ''It's a Woman's World'' (1999) * ''My Love Is Your Love'' (2CD, 2003)


Live album

* ''Together... (Live)'' (2000)


Compilations

* ''20th Century Masters'' (2003) * ''Anthology'' (Tamla-Motown) (2005)


Singles


References


External links

*
Booking pageSearch iTunes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, Brenda 1946 births Living people People from Atascadero, California People from Watts, Los Angeles People from Greater Los Angeles American soul singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Motown artists Del-Fi Records artists African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from California Ike & Tina Turner members Northern soul musicians 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers African-American songwriters