Patrice Holloway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Patrice Holloway (March 23, 1951 - October 1, 2006) was an African-American soul and pop singer.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Patrice was the younger sister of Motown artist Brenda Holloway. Holloway also had a contract with Motown, recording songs such as "The Touch of Venus" and "For the Love of Mike", none of which were released. She recorded a few minor singles for the Capitol Records label during the mid-1960s, notably "Love And Desire", "Ecstasy" and "Stolen Hours", which became popular on the Northern Soul scene in the 1970s. She sang background vocals with her sister on many records for other artists, including Joe Cocker and the Grease Band's 1968 cover version of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", later the theme song to the 1980s television series The Wonder Years.

Holloway is most noted for her work as the singing voice of Valerie in Hanna-Barbera's 1970 Josie and the Pussycats television series and on the concurrent Josie and the Pussycats album. Valerie was the first African-American cartoon character to star as a television series regular, and was nearly cut from the show by Hanna-Barbera. Record producer Danny Janssen demanded that Holloway--and therefore Valerie--remain in the show, as he felt her voice was necessary to produce the Jackson 5-esque bubblegum pop that H-B had requested he produce.

After the first season of Josie, Holloway recorded a few solo singles, produced by Janssen, for Capitol Records. Neither she, nor Pussycats bandmates Cheryl Ladd and Cathy Dougher, performed the songs for the second season episodes, which were titled Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space.

Holloway died of a heart attack at the age of 55 on October 1, 2006.