** This is just a short biographical summary – for the full story, check out this artist’s reviews! **

The queen of unreleased Motown, Los Angeles singer and songwriter Brenda Holloway was blessed with a big voice and a knack for penning a lovely tune, but she was never Motown’s top priority – as a West Coast artist, an artist who wanted to write her own material, and an artist who was unfairly saddled with the task of taking over the solo role of Mary Wells – and so when Brenda is discussed today, reference is usually made to her physical good looks rather than her talent.

In truth, she had the whole package, but due to a combination of geography, impatience, and a reputation for being “difficult” (much of it acquired after the label’s unsuccsseful attempt to force a square peg into a round hole), she never quite got the commercial push or the solid musical direction she both needed and deserved. She left Motown in 1968 and effectively retired from the music business, resurfacing occasionally to cut records and (eventually) perform live.

Perhaps more than any other Motown artist, Brenda Holloway’s back catalogue has yielded up a huge number of unreleased gems for various CD compilations over the years, with the promise of still more to come; she remains a cult figure on the Northern Soul scene and a hugely popular live performer.

Review Archive: Brenda HOLLOWAY (13 items)

We have 13 reviews for Brenda Holloway currently available here on Motown Junkies – see our archive for more details, or click a link below: