Nancy Holloway: Bye Bye ... plus / Hello Dolly (1964-1969)

America's loss is France's gain. Nancy Holloway migrated to France primarily because of a sour, premature marriage and has remained a resident for more than 40 years, enjoying success as a recording artist and actress. Holloway's fame hasn't extended far past French borders, where she continues to record, sing, and appear in plush jazz nightspots. Though born and raised in America, she's virtually unknown in the United States. Born Nancy Brown in the '40s, and raised in Cleveland, OH, she was the only sister among three brothers: Walter, a retired Cleveland police officer; Joe, a retired career military man; and the youngest, Charles (aka Chuckie), who worked for a railroad in California. Holloway's half sister, Mary Holt, was Cleveland's first African-American female radio personality, popular in the '50s and '60s. The Browns lived at 7300 Wagner Avenue; Holloway attended Rawlings Junior High and East Technical High. She married a man with the surname of Holloway, who was controlling and abusive, after high school; Nancy Holloway left Cleveland to get away, first to New York, then Paris. In France she became popular recording French versions of pop and soul hits in the '60s; an Lp from this period, Bye Bye, depicts a young, beautiful Holloway on the cover. I included here a '90s reissue of that album which contains several bonus tracks (I added a few more myself). The selections include 'My Guy,' 'Sealed With a Kiss,' 'That's How Heartaches Are Made,' 'Don't Make Me Over,' the Contours' 'Do You Love Me', 'Désappointé' and the Charles Aznavour composition 'Prends Garde à Toi'. There are terrific takes on Marvin Gaye’s 'You're a Wonderful One' ('Le Plus Bel Amour') and Tammi Terrell’s pre-Motown 'If I Would Marry You' ('Je Suis Yé-Yé'). She pays homage to the Beatles too with 'Elle T'Aime' ('She Loves Me'), and 'Je Veux Prendre Ta Main' ('I Want to Hold Your Hand'). The songs included on Bye Bye represent Nancy Holloway's pop/soul side. They lose nothing in the translation thanks to Holloway and the arrangements. Marking her move away from pop, her final album of the decade, issued in 1969, was a collection largely of American show tunes and some soul hits. 'Hello Dolly' became the title track, and it also included 'Mame', 'Hurts So Bad', 'As Long As He Needs Me', 'Light My Fire' and great version of Betty Everett's hit 'You're No Good'. Although there were plenty of homegrown yé-yé girls singing French versions of US hits, Nancy represented the real thing – an American singing American songs in a highly American accent. http://www.readysteadygirls.eu/, http://www.allmusic.com/.

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'Dum Dum Twist' perfomed by a young Nancy Holloway:

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Nancy singing live 'It's Over' in 1964:

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And, finally 'A Quoi Ca Sert Les Pleurs':