Loleatta Holloway

Biography

Loleatta Holloway (, lo-LEE-tə; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run×Hit And Run1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAHit and Run11:07BWe're Getting Stronger (The Longer We Stay Together)7:23" and "Love Sensation×Love Sensation11 August 1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Love Sensation6:03A2Long Hard Climb to Love4:37A3Short End of the Stick3:12A4I’ve Been Loving You Too Long4:43B1Two Became a Crowd5:23B2Dance What ’cha Wanna5:12B3My Way5:34B4I’ll Be Standing There4:50". Billboard ranked her the 95th most successful dance artist of all time. According to The Independent, she is the most sampled female singer in popular music; her vocals appear in house and dance tracks including the 1989 Black Box single "Ride on Time".

Early career

Holloway began singing gospel with her mother in the Holloway Community Singers in Chicago. From 1967 to 1971, she recorded with Albertina Walker in the Caravans. She was a cast member of the Chicago production of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope.
In 1971, she recorded "Rainbow '71", a Curtis Mayfield song first recorded by Gene Chandler in 1963. The single was released on the Apache label and picked up for national distribution by Galaxy Records. Its producer, Floyd Smith, became her manager and later her husband.

Aware Records

In the early 1970s, Holloway signed with Aware, an Atlanta-based soul music label owned by Michael Thevis. She recorded two albums for the label, both produced by Floyd Smith: Loleatta×LoleattaSeptember 1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Man I Love2:252We Did It2:193Our Love3:094Can I Change My Mind2:405Part Time Lover, Full Time Fool4:036So Can I3:207Only a Fool2:258Love Woke Me Up2:459Mother of Shame2:4110Remember Me2:04 (1973) and Cry to Me (1975). Her single "Cry to Me×Cry to Me1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Cry to Me5:45A2I Know Where You’re Coming From3:18A3The Show Must Go On3:51A4The World Don’t Owe You Nothing3:10A5Just Be True to Me3:17B1Something About the Way I Feel3:23B2I’ll Be Gone4:06B3I Can’t Help Myself3:47B4Casanova3:42B5H.E.L.P. M.E. M.Y. L.O.R.D.2:48," a remake of the Solomon Burke hit, reached number 10 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 68 on the Hot 100, but the label soon went out of business.

Gold Mind Records

Philadelphia producer Norman Harris signed Holloway in 1976 to his new label, Gold Mind, a subsidiary of Salsoul Records. Her first single from the album Loleatta×LoleattaSeptember 1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Man I Love2:252We Did It2:193Our Love3:094Can I Change My Mind2:405Part Time Lover, Full Time Fool4:036So Can I3:207Only a Fool2:258Love Woke Me Up2:459Mother of Shame2:4110Remember Me2:04, "Worn Out Broken Heart," reached number 25 on the R&B chart; its B-side, "Dreaming," climbed to number 72 on the pop chart and launched her as a disco act. In 1978, the ballad "Only You," written and produced by Bunny Sigler, reached number 11 R&B.
She contributed vocals to Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire"; Hartman then wrote and produced the title track of her fourth and final Gold Mind album, Love Sensation×Love Sensation11 August 1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Love Sensation6:03A2Long Hard Climb to Love4:37A3Short End of the Stick3:12A4I’ve Been Loving You Too Long4:43B1Two Became a Crowd5:23B2Dance What ’cha Wanna5:12B3My Way5:34B4I’ll Be Standing There4:50 (1980). In the early 1980s, she had another dance hit with "Crash Goes Love×Crash Goes Love1984 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Crash Goes Love (Blaster mix)7:212Crash Goes Love (Master mix)6:403Crash Goes Dub (inst.)8:014Sweet Thing6:16," which reached number five on the U.S. Dance chart. She also recorded "So Sweet×So Sweet1987 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1So Sweet (The club mix)8:15A2So Sweet (The original version)4:28B1So Sweet (intro by Rocky Jones)B2So Sweet (The remix 8:06 by Rocky Jones)8:06" for the house-music label DJ International Records.

"Ride on Time"

The Italian house group Black Box sampled Holloway's "Love Sensation×Love Sensation11 August 1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Love Sensation6:03A2Long Hard Climb to Love4:37A3Short End of the Stick3:12A4I’ve Been Loving You Too Long4:43B1Two Became a Crowd5:23B2Dance What ’cha Wanna5:12B3My Way5:34B4I’ll Be Standing There4:50" vocals for their 1989 single "Ride on Time". In the UK, it topped the singles chart for six weeks and became the year's bestselling single. The sample was used without permission. Several sources reported that Holloway reached a settlement and was paid damages, but the producer, Daniele Davoli, said in 2018 that only Salsoul Records, the owner of the master recording, received payment.
Holloway resented the use of her vocals: "I've been around for years trying to get this one hit record. It annoyed me knowing that Black Box were number one and I was not getting any credit for it." She also said Black Box was paid more for performances than her, even after she was billed as "the voice of Black Box". Davoli said he regretted not meeting Holloway before her death and would have liked to apologize "for how messy things got".

Later career

Holloway had her first US number one hit when Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featured her vocals on "Good Vibrations×Good Vibrations1 January 1991 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Good Vibrations (club dub)5:262Good Vibrations4:303Good Vibrations (Boomin’ Beats for Marky’s Jeep – instrumental dub)5:054So What Chu Sayin’4:43" (1991). She performed with the group to promote the single and received full vocal credit and a share of the royalties. This followed a backlash against acts like Milli Vanilli and producers who had used Martha Wash's vocals without credit.
In 1992, she was billed alongside Cappella on the single "Take Me Away" (UK number 25). Later dance chart entries included "Share My Joy" and "What Goes Around Comes Around" (both credited to "GTS featuring Loleatta Holloway") in 2000, and "Relight My Fire" (credited to Martin featuring Holloway), which reached number five in 2003. "Love Sensation×Love Sensation11 August 1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Love Sensation6:03A2Long Hard Climb to Love4:37A3Short End of the Stick3:12A4I’ve Been Loving You Too Long4:43B1Two Became a Crowd5:23B2Dance What ’cha Wanna5:12B3My Way5:34B4I’ll Be Standing There4:50 '06" reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.

Personal life

Holloway met Floyd Smith, who would become her producer, manager, and husband, around 1971. The two later divorced. She had four children. Holloway died on March 21, 2011, in Chicago, from heart failure, at the age of 64.

Compilation albums

Greatest Hits (1996, The Right Stuff)
Queen of the Night: The Ultimate Club Collection (2001, Salsoul)
The Greatest Performance of My Life: The Best of Loleatta Holloway (2003, Salsoul)
The Anthology (2005, Suss'd)
A Tribute to Loleatta Holloway: The Salsoul Years (2013, Salsoul)
Dreamin': The Loleatta Holloway Anthology 1976–1982 (2014, Big Break)

Video games

Make My Video: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (1992) – Herself (archive footage)

TV series

Re-Micks (2011) – Herself (archive footage)