Loleatta Holloway. She began singing gospel with her mother in the Holloway Community Singers in Chicago and recorded with Albertina Walker in the Caravans gospel group between 1967 and 1971. It was around this time she met her future producer, manager, and husband Floyd Smith and recorded "Rainbow ’71" in 1971 a Curtis Mayfield song that Gene Chandler had recorded in 1963. She recorded two albums both of them produced by Floyd Smith, Loleatta (1973) and Cry to Me (1975). Her first single from the second album "Cry to Me" rose to No. 10 R&B and No. 68 on the Hot 100, but before the label could really establish her it went out of business. Top Philadelphia arranger and producer Norman Harris signed Loleatta in 1976 and the first release from the album Loleatta was "Worn Out Broken Heart," which reached No. 25 R&B, but the B-side, "Dreaming," climbed to No. 72 on the pop chart and launched her as a disco act. She contributed vocals to "Relight My Fire" for Dan Hartman who then wrote and produced the title track of her fourth album Love Sensation (1980). 18 of her songs charted on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart including four No 1's. However it was a ballad that proved to be another big R&B hit for her. "Only You" was written and produced by Bunny Sigler who also sang with her on the track and it reached No. 11 in 1978.

In the late 1980s her vocals from "Love Sensation" were used in the UK No. 1 hit "Ride on Time" by Black Box. Loleatta however was uncredited for her vocals. She successfully sued the group which led to an undisclosed court settlement in her favour. In 1992 she had a hit with dance band Cappella. She appeared billed as Cappella featuring Loleatta Holloway on the single and from this her fortunes dramatically improved. She had her first US No. 1 hit when Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featured her vocals on "Good Vibrations" (1991) and she received full vocal credit as well as a share of the royalties.  She continued to record and perform up until her death from heart failure aged just 64 in 2011.

Artist

Loleatta Holloway

Born:

5th November 1946

Passed

21st March 2011

Artist Bio

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