Brenda Holloway

Brenda Holloway
Holloway performing at a memorial tribute for the founder of the Watts Summer Festival, Tommy Jacquette, on November 18, 2009
Background information
Born	(1946-06-21) June 21, 1946 (age 70), Atascadero, California, United States
Origin	Watts, Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Soul
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Donna, Tamla (Motown), Invictus, Birthright, Motorcity, Volt
Associated acts	Mary Wells, Patrice Holloway

Brenda Holloway (born June 21, 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", "When I'm Gone", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy." The latter, which she co-wrote, was later widely popularized when it became a Top Ten hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears. 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.

She was born in Atascadero, 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 section of Los Angeles where her sister, Patrice, 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, Brenda began working on demonstration records and singing backup 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'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.