The Dark Side Of Motown-Brenda Holloway
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Artist:
Link to Brenda Holloway playlist..
Folks often compare Motown and Stax, saying that Motown was a whitewashed version of the "real soul" that Stax was doing. Yes, Motown was very upwardly mobile and clean cut. Yes, Motown was very concerned about pop hits and unfailingly released uptempo records.
The fact is though, despite the production sheen, Motown records are tougher than they get credit for, especially lyrically. They may have a happy sound and a tempo suited for dancing, but almost always the lyrics are on the dark side.
Take 1967's Brenda Holloway single (Tamla 54148) Just Look What You've Done b/w Starting The Hurt All Over Again. Brenda Holloway is an underrated singer in the Motown canon, and Motown didn't exactly treat her right either. She wasn't a Detroiter, she had aspirations to write and sing her own material, and she was not a party animal (like most of her Motown mates).
Folks recognized her talent, but she didn't seemed interested in playing the backstage party and power games at Motown and she was out the door by 1968. She made something like 30 records for Berry Gordy and some feel she might've been the best female singer Motown ever had. But the boss had to let her go, 'cause she was asking for more control then he would allow.
Motown was a family business, as was Stax, but Motown, under the shiny surface, was some serious hardball. Brenda Holloway is proof of that.
Brenda Holloway
Just Look What You've Done (R.Dean Taylor/Ralph Wilson)â–¼
Just look what you've done
You turned my dreams to dust
I thought you needed me
Now I find out that you're leaving me
Starting The Hurt All Over Again (Ashford & Simpson)â–¼
Why do you torture me
By bringing back these old memories
Just when I'm doing the best I can
You come around
Starting the hurt all over again
She didn't write these tunes above, but they seem appropriate for a relationship that is in trouble. Perhaps to placate Brenda, Gordy actually let her record her self-penned,You've Made Me So Very Happy for Motown. It was her final single for the label, and part of the reason she quit at 21. Berry Gordy wanted to do the song his way and Brenda wasn't having it. Later she would regret not giving in to Gordy, but she did OK for herself. The song was written about the end of a relationship she had, but it works fine as her Motown swansong as well.
You've Made Me So Very Happyâ–¼
Other Notes-Starting the Hurt All Over Again was one of the first tunes Ashford & Simpson wrote for Motown (It was typical for new writers and producers at the company to work with artists in Berry Gordy's doghouse). Starting the Hurt has a second life as a Northern Soul classic. There have been many cover versions of You've Made Me So Very Happy (listed in comments) w/ the Blood,Sweat, and Tears version the highest charter of the bunch and a nice little annuity for Ms. Holloway.
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Comments (25)
The reservoir of talent in sixties Detroit was deep indeed, and still far from fully explored. Lou Rawls used an almost identical arrangement for his cut of "You Make Me So Very Happy". I suspect, mind you, that she didn't receive a cent in royalties from Duke Reid or Sonia Pottinger for Alton Ellis' famous cut.
The writers credit include producer Frank Wilson and, of course, Berry Gordy, and her sister Patrice..so she didn't get all the dough. I just found out her sister Patrice, along with Brenda, sang back up for Joe Cocker on his (dare i say it) Beatles cover, I Get By with a Little Help From My Friends.
Patrice was also the voice of Valerie on Josie and the Pussycats..That's Valerie on the right..
Thanks for this - she does have a beautiful voice - great read, great listen
Maybe she was just too upbeat for Motown:) The House O' Paranoia.
The crystal-like voice of Ms Holloway is just what I need for a gentle night... Ta!
Cody, it's always a pleasure reading your wonderfully learned posts.
Cody B. Very good music....and a great read
Bartleby and DMDM...welcome and thanks. I only knew of Brenda til recently. Just Look What You've Done finally connected through randomness and so I took a deeper look.
It's amazing to me how often that leads to something interesting. Hours and hours of songs, each one with a story and/or a life's work behind it. That's why I love this on so many levels..for the music itself, the stories behind it, and the culture around it.
There are some benefits in trying to have everything..I know next to nothing about half the songs I have, but I'll get to 'em all eventually.
Was it Blood, Sweat and Tears, who also covered this? The Guess Who? I never liked "You Make Me So Very Happy" only knowing those versions, but this one is great! Her voice is more nuanced. Thanks for this. I'll keep an ear out for more of her work.
Notice all the Motown version..Mr.Gordy (and the Holloway sisters) got paid!
B,S&T had the biggest hit..#2
Also recording it:
Chet Baker
Shirley Bassey
Blinky (Motown)
Cher
Chris Clark (Motown)
Rosemary Clooney
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Alton Ellis (as Mr.B said)
Gloria Estefan
Bobby Gentry
Edyie Gorme
Honey Cone
Lou Rawls (as Mr.B said)
Somokey Robison (Motown)
Diana Ross (Motown)
Edwin Starr (Motown)
Mel Torme
The Uniques (Reggae)
Dionne Warwick
The Whispers
Yeah, I never could stand that sorta "white soul" of BS&T, something about the singers voice grated me.
Didn't See the Guess Who though ..here's
Cher
Alton Ellis
Lou Rawls
I'm not an expert in that genre..at the time the B,S,&T's of the World and Chicago got on the radio more than a little. The hits became annoying to me, but I know there are folks who swear by some of their early records. But yeah, Spinning Wheel and 25 or 6 to 4 got to be a bit much.
Any of the vets can chime in ..Electric Flag was another..
When I'm Gone video:
She is lovely..thanks A48!
love Brenda Holloway however really didn't hear her until after Motown left Detroit, like a few at Motown never got the promotion that others did.i have put all of BH songs from the motown singles box set on a playlist and the new pre- motown set just released looks great to me.
BST had a nice 1st album however after that they became MOR. Same for Chicago there are some songs i really still love but mostly not the hits. there was a time when a lot of bands had a horn section and the labels forced it on many at that time. thankfully it passed. not against the big band sound just the result of labels forcing it on bands who would have been better without it. One band that comes to me is the Crow and Evil Woman that song is great without the horns and i saw them live... again without the horns.
Hah..I knew that both the BH and the rock horn band thing would be up your alley cp. Crow ..now I remember. When I was a young'un and these bands ruled the earth, I grew an aversion toward horns..took me until college to get over it.
I don't know where my Josie Photo went..but Janice is on the right..
Hey, this is great. I never knew about her, but it sounds like there was plenty of talent. Sounds also like she could have been a great writer for Motown acts. It's a shame that it didn't work out.
What a surprise to find that she wrote the BS&T hit. I hope she got some real bank off of that monster. I can't see how a major act like that would stiff a writer, but you never know. Enjoyed this a lot. I'll be checking out your playlist.
By the way, I think BS&T have some great deep tracks, as do Chicago. People, don't write them off as totally MOR. Just their hits are, but much of their other work is not.
Glad to hear it, Rex. Well, because Mr. Gordy's name is in the credits, my guess is that checks were cut. I'm pretty sure she did just fine.
Fascinating stuff. Brenda is quite a gem. Too bad she didn't get more exposure for her talent. I recall the B,S & T version which I didn't know was a cover. They really made that their own though, which was evident w/the #2 position on the charts.
I did know that Motown was rather ruthless in their management. I had heard about it over the years from various artists and also the play/film 'Dreamgirls' made it even more apparent(even though it was supposed to be a 'fictionalized' story). Thx for the continued education(& linking this to FB).
No problem A1,thanks..In the beginning (as a youth), I just flat hated Motown..too ubiquitous, too much commerce..then I started liking them more for the later material of Stevie and Marvin, then came the rest of the artists..almost all of whom are good. Then I started appreciating the competitions among the writers and producers, and the greatness of Smokey. Then I finally came around to the music and the great musicians who made it. I respect Berry Gordy for what he accomplished, but the more you look at it, he had to be goaded to do many of the innovative things that the great artists came up with. His machevellian build up of Diana Ross' career and his dumping of music for movies is also problematic.
I got into Stevie back in my teens w/Songs In The Key Of Life which was & still is an amazing album. I was into top 40 then & the only Motown that got through was the popular stuff so I had little exposure. I grew up in Portland, OR & back in the 70s the radio stations available were VERY limited. It was very whitebread up until the early '90s when they finally got an alternative station.
The motown sound though couldn't keep my interest for long. Even the retro motown sounds being made today don't, like Raphael Saadiq's latest or Amy Winehouse(even though they are excellent). I do have a soft spot for Duffy though since even though it has a retroish sound adds something to it so it sounds different than motown, plus I love her voice. I like hearing 'new' stuff even though alot of alternative is rehashed admittedly. I just like weird music & motown is far from that, haha.
And yes, Gordy accomplished alot but the price he paid was great by losing all sorts of great talent like Ms. Holloway.
This black page is truly annoying 'cause I have to highlight to see any comments. Grrrr! Mog is back to it's old tricks again I see. Such is life w/a free service.
All the Black Page talk and I still haven't seen it..I'm using Firefox..but I also haven't seen the black page on Google Chrome. Now I wanna see the black page..
Well I guess you won't cause now it's white, thank goddess.
Cody, I truly appreciate the insights in your post. I guess I have not given Motown, as much as I like listening, more thought beyond the usual impression that it is a bunch of clean-cut hitmakers, but you raise a very good point. Indeed, even in pop hits, when the songwriter's emotions reveal themselves, it can't be denied.