Click below for a Loleatta Holloway sample:

Crash Goes Love

Dreamin'

Born in Chicago, she cut some deep soul for Aware in the early 70s, getting her first taste of success with "Our Love," "Worn Out Broken Heart" and the 1975 top 10 single "Run To Me."

A switch to Gold Mind had two immediate effects: the production team of Baker-Harris-Young and an emphasis on dance songs.  Holloway applied that booming voice to the club anthems "Dreamin'," "Hit N Run," and "It's All About The Papers," each featuring a fierce ad-lib where she let loose and vamped her way into history.  Some of her other notable singles are "Catch Me On The Rebound" and a song she did with Salsoul Orchestra, "Runaway."    "Only You" was a duet with Bunny Sigler that surprisingly got released as a single, even though it was a slow song; it went to #11. Outside of the Salsoul family, she recorded with Dan Hartman, lending her talents to "Relight My Fire," which most people assume is one of her records. 

Although she did stay true to her roots by including ballads on each record, it was the uptempo cuts that got the attention and made her Queen of Salsoul.   "Love Sensation" (produced and written by Dan Hartman) was a marvelous combination of vocal pyrotechnics and melody, with lyrics speaking to the experience of knowing you've been turned out by someone and you've got to have it.

"Sensation" has been sampled, re-edited and remixed countless times and was famously looped by Black Box on "Ride On Time" and Marky Mark's "Good Vibrations."  In the latter case, Mark actually brought Loleatta along for promotional appearances, giving her exposure she otherwise would not have had.  She continues to work the club circuit and has new versions of her classics issued just about every year.

Loleatta Holloway's Deepest Grooves

Loleatta (Aware, 1973)

Cry To Me (Aware, 1975)

Loleatta (Gold Mind, 1976)

Queen Of The Night (Gold Mind, 1978)

Loleatta Holloway (Gold Mind, 1979)
The oddity of her disco period, Loleatta and husband Floyd Smith battled to make this more of a traditional soul record than her last two LPs.  Bobby Womack makes an appearance.

Love Sensation (Gold Mind, 1980)

"Crash Goes Love" (Streetwise, 1984)

Golden Classics: Cry To Me (Collectables, 1992)
Just about the only collection of her pre-disco work, it will definitely open the eyes (and ears) of people who just know her for dancefloor stompers.

Greatest Hits (Capitol, 1996)
Nice overview of her career.  Includes a few Aware cuts but focuses on the Salsoul material.  The best single collection on the market.

Queen of the Night (Capitol, 2001)
A bunch of new remixes documenting the lasting impact of Loleatta Holloway on dance music.

Copyright ©2001 B.Graff.  All rights reserved.