Nancy Holloway ( Brown; December 11, 1932 – August 28, 2019) was an American jazz, pop and soul singer and actress who was popular during the 1960s in France, where she continued to perform and live.Nancy Holloway biography AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2013
Biography
Born in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio, one of ten children of African American heritage, Nancy Brown attended
East Technical High School
East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio.
History
The school, when it opened on October 5, 1908, was the first public trade school in the cit ...
and married when in her teens. The marriage was brief, but she retained her husband's surname of Holloway. She moved to New York City and took menial jobs before working as a dancer as part of the Beige Beauties troupe. In 1954, she traveled to Paris, France, and was persuaded to sing on stage at the Mars Club. Her performance was well received, and she became a regular performer, touring around Europe before returning to Paris. She began singing at the
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...
André Pousse
André Pousse (20 October 1919 – 9 September 2005) was a noted French actor and, in his youth, also a notable cyclist.
Biography
While primarily known as a leading French actor, André Pousse began his professional career as a cyclist (prima ...
, she made her debut appearance on French television in 1961 and released her first single, "Le Boogie du bébé" (a French cover of
Buzz Clifford
Reese Francis Clifford III (October 8, 1941 – January 26, 2018), known professionally as Buzz Clifford, was an American pop singer and songwriter. His biggest success came with his recording of "Baby Sittin' Boogie" (1961), which peaked at No. ...
's "
Baby Sittin' Boogie
"Baby Sittin' Boogie" is a song written by Johnny Parker and performed by Buzz Clifford. It reached #4 in VG-lista, Norway, #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' pop chart, #17 on the UK Singles Chart, #27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B c ...
"). That year she opened her own nightclub, Chez Nancy Holloway, and appeared in her first film, ''Ballade pour un voyou''. She became successful as a
yé-yé
''Yé-yé'' () (''yeyé'' in Spanish) was a style of pop music that emerged in Western-Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term "''yé-yé''" was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as ...
style pop singer, uniquely attractive in France as "an American singer singing American songs specifically for the French market... with a distinctly American accent
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
only added to her charm." Further successful singles followed through the early and mid-1960s, including "Quand un garçon me plaît" (based on "
Big Noise from Winnetka
"Big Noise from Winnetka" is a jazz song co-written by composer and bass player Bob Haggart and drummer Ray Bauduc with lyrics by Gil Rodin and Bob Crosby, who were members of a sub-group of the Bob Crosby Orchestra called "The Bobcats". They a ...
Dum dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Etymology
During the 19th ...
", "T'en vas pas comme ça" (an adaptation of " Don't Make Me Over"), "Fich’ le camp Jack" (a version of "
Hit the Road Jack
"Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signat ...
"), "Bye Bye" ("
My Guy
"My Guy" is a 1964 hit single by Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's rejection of a sexual advance and affirmation of her fidelity to her boyfriend, who is her ideal an ...
"), "Elle t’aime" ("
She Loves You
"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...
"), "Est-ce que tu m’aimes" ("
Do You Love Me
"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988 ...
"), and "Dis-lui que je ne suis pas là", a duet with
Nino Ferrer
Nino Agostino Arturo Maria Ferrari (), known as Nino Ferrer (15 August 1934 – 13 August 1998), was an Italian-born French singer-songwriter and author.
Biography and career
Nino Ferrer was born on 15 August 1934 in Genoa, Italy, but lived the ...
Le gentleman de Cocody
''Man from Cocody'' (French: ') is a French adventure film from 1965 set in Cocody, Ivory Coast. It was directed by Christian-Jaque, written by Christian-Jaque, , Jean Ferry and Jacques Emmanuel, starring Jean Marais. The film was known under the ...
'', and for a time her acting work overshadowed her singing career though she continued to record. She became a respected nightclub performer and appeared with such stars as
Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
,
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
, and
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
. In 1969, her album ''Hello Dolly'' marked a shift towards
show tune
A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.
...
s. The death of her daughter led to a period of retirement, but she returned as a concert performer in the 1980s.
In later life she became an active supporter of AIDS charities. She retired from performing in 2008, and died in Paris in 2019, aged 86.
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
70 917 (France)
LPs
* ''Nancy Holloway'', 1963, Ricordi 30 RS 061 (France)
* ''Nancy Holloway'' (also known by the title ''Bye Bye''), 1964, Decca 154 073 (France)
* ''Hello Dolly'', 1969, Concert Hall, SVS 2690 (France)Worldcat, ; also see BNF catalog recor
* ''Nancy Holloway'', 1976, Les Tréteaux, 6346 (France)
* ''Greatest Hits'', 1982, Polydor 827 649 1 (France)
* ''Boppin' Goldies'', 1982, Vogue, 015502 (Belgium)
TV and films
* ''Ballade pour un voyou'', directed by Claude-Jean Bonnardot (1963)
* ''Le Bluffeur'' directed by
Sergio Gobbi
Sergio Gobbi (born 13 May 1938 in Milan, Italy), born as Sergio Ehrlich, is an Italian-French filmmaker, who was married to Jocelyn Wildenstein.Cherchez l'idole'', directed by
Michel Boisrond
Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921, Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais – 10 November 2002, La Celle-Saint-Cloud) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Career
A former apprentice ...
(1964)
* ''
Le Gentleman de Cocody
''Man from Cocody'' (French: ') is a French adventure film from 1965 set in Cocody, Ivory Coast. It was directed by Christian-Jaque, written by Christian-Jaque, , Jean Ferry and Jacques Emmanuel, starring Jean Marais. The film was known under the ...
'', directed by
Christian-Jaque
Christian-Jaque (byname of Christian Maudet; 4 September 1904 – 8 July 1994) was a French filmmaker. From 1954 to 1959, he was married to actress Martine Carol, who starred in several of his films, including ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1953), '' ...
Claude Barma
Claude Barma (3 November 1918, in Nice – 30 August 1992, in Paris), was a French director and screenwriter, and an early creator of French television programmes.
Biography
After studying electrical engineering, he entered television in 1946 with ...
Alain Jessua
Alain Jessua (16 January 1932 – 30 November 2017) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed ten films between 1956 and 1997. He worked as assistant director for Jacques Becker on the set of ''Casque d'or'', with Max Ophüls ...
(1967)
* ''Les Enfants de Caïn'', directed by
René Jolivet
René Jolivet (1898–1975) was a French screenwriter and film director. He co-directed the 1956 adventure film ''The Adventures of Gil Blas''.Klossner p.11
Selected filmography
* '' Women's Prison'' (1938)
* ''Angelica'' (1939)
* ''La traditio ...
(1970)
* ''Le Cri du cormoran le soir au-dessus des jonques'', directed by
Michel Audiard
Paul Michel Audiard (; 15 May 1920 – 27 July 1985) was a French screenwriter and film director, known for his witty, irreverent and slang-laden dialogues which made him a prominent figure on the French cultural scene of the 1960s and 1970s. He ...
(1970)
* ''Boulevard du rhum'', directed by
Robert Enrico
Robert Georgio Enrico (13 April 1931 – 23 February 2001) was a French film director and scriptwriter best known for making the Oscar-winning short ''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1961).
He was born in Liévin, Pas-de-Calais, in the north ...