23 Facts About Brenda Holloway

Brenda Holloway was born on June 26,1946 and is an American soul singer who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s.

Brenda Holloway 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.

Brenda Holloway was born in Atascadero, California on June 26,1946, the eldest of three children to Wade and Johnnie Mae Holloway.

Brenda Holloway recorded duets with Hal Davis for the Minasa and Snap labels, and worked with other local recording artists.

Gordy was impressed by Brenda Holloway's looks, and subsequently by her vocal power, and opted to sign her to Motown.

Brenda Holloway was 17 at the time, and was Motown's first West Coast signing.

Brenda 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.

Brenda Holloway's first recording was "Every Little Bit Hurts", a song she had recorded two years earlier while working as a session musician.

Brenda Holloway was reluctant to record the song, and later said she was upset during the sessions; several takes were recorded before producers felt that Brenda Holloway had hit her mark.

Brenda Holloway was masterful in her ability to produce warm, rich timbres.

The song only produced a modest showing and Brenda Holloway began dealing with issues with the label.

Brenda 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".

Brenda Holloway's successes led to her being an in-demand television celebrity.

Later in 1967, Brenda Holloway wrote the song "Bah Bah Bah" which was recorded by Diana Ross and the Supremes and included on their "Reflections" LP.

Motown's PR later released a statement on Brenda 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.

Brenda Holloway recorded for Holland, Dozier and Holland's labels Invictus and Music Merchant in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Brenda Holloway married a preacher, Albert Davis, in Los Angeles in 1969, and the couple had four children, Beoir, Unita, Christy and Dontese.

Brenda Holloway's records remained popular on Britain's Northern soul club circuit, and many tracks were reissued on compilation CDs.

In 1987, Brenda Holloway returned to a secular singing career, recording for producer Ian Levine's UK label Motorcity Records, which recorded material featuring former Motown acts.

Three years later, Brenda Holloway issued the album All It Takes.

Brenda Holloway 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.

Brenda Holloway spoke at schools, and at UCLA in 1993.

In 2011, Brenda Holloway recorded a duet with Cliff Richard on his Soulicious album, but did not perform with Richard on his accompanying concert tour in Britain.