In the annals of big-voiced R&B/soul divas, Brenda Holloway deserves a larger historical place. The way she sang presaged Whitney Houston by two whole decades, yet Holloway only had one substantive hit for Motown Records.
That would be “Every Little Bit Hurts” (#3 R&B, #13 pop) released in the spring of 1964. The success of that melodramatic ballad garnered Holloway her first of only two studio LPs with Motown, naturally titled Every Little Bit Hurts.
Holloway was a bit of an outcast at Motown. Hailing from Southern California at a time when most of the label’s artists were connected to Detroit in some way, Holloway cut most of her early material in LA, not in actual Motown. Hence why her early material really did stand out from the rest of the label.
Eventually she did cut tracks with the Funk Brothers, but she was always at loggerheads with Motown management based on what I’ve read on The Interwebs.
(SIDENOTE: Motown’s next female singer signed from Southern California would be Teena Marie. Perhaps she recorded an early demo of “Every Little Bit Hurts” as an homage to Holloway?)
For the next few years, Holloway recorded and released many good, even great, songs. However only two more managed to crack the pop top 40. “When I’m Gone” (#12 R&B, #25 pop) in early 1965 and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (#40 R&B, #39 pop) in the fall of 1967. That latter song was co-written by Holloway and later became a gargantuan smash (#2 pop) for the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969.
In 1968, at only 22 years old, she ditched the label as they released her second LP, The Artistry of Brenda Holloway. That album was only put out in the UK. American fans never saw it on this side of the Atlantic. Another album had been scheduled for Holloway in 1967 (Hurtin’ and Cryin’) but was ultimately shelved.
A shame because she had some top-shelf material that deserved better. Just a taste of my favorite Holloway tracks:
Every Little Bit Hurts — 8/10
A Favor For A Girl (With A Love Sick Heart) — 8/10
Just Look What You’ve Done — 8.5/10
Hurt A Little Everyday — 8.5/10
You've Made Me So Very Happy — 9/10
I've Got To Find It — 8.5/10
Anyhoo, Holloway sporadically recorded music thereafter, but nothing compared to even the mild success she briefly enjoyed at Motown. At least in 2005, the label finally did right by her and released a 48-song anthology that brought together her two albums plus many unreleased and single-only tracks.
The playlist of 25 songs below is essentially a distillation of that anthology to its very best.
BRENDA HOLLOWAY PLAYLIST on Tidal
So enjoy the music of Brenda Holloway, the first artist from the West Coast signed to Motown… which eventually abandoned Detroit for Los Angeles anyways by the early 1970s.