Loleatta Holloway - The Hotatlanta Soul of Loleatta Holloway

Loleatta Holloway is probably still best known to the public as one of the disco queens of the 1970s.  But that part of her career might soon be forgotten.   Fortunately, Ms. Holloway had the opportunity to document her real vocal artistry under close to ideal circumstances during the early 70s before the dark cloud of disco descended on the world of Soul.   This work, mostly recorded in Atlanta and often under the production of Sam Dees, stands as a timeless testimony to one of the truly great soul divas, a soul diva who almost came along too late. 

Loleatta Holloway was born in Chicago in 1946 and began to sing gospel at an early age.  Her vocal prowess pushed her up in the ranks of gospel music very quickly; she became a member of none other than the Caravans in the 1960s, and then worked the programs successfully as a solo artist.   Her crossover into secular music came with the acceptance of an offer to play the starring role in a Chicago musical - "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope."   Her first secular recordings (included here) were produced by her husband and manager, Floyd Smith: Rainbow '71, For Sentimental Reasons, Bring it On Up.

Her first 45 and live performances got noticed right away, and Michael Thevis soon took her to the Hotatlanta Studio where she recorded the remaining tracks on this compilation for Aware records.    Here we have a fortunate combination of mostly high quality songs and production (often Sam Dees) and a great soul diva at the height of her powers.

Sadly, we lost Loleatta Holloway prematurely in 2011.  This is her recorded legacy that will live forever.