The Early Years: Rare Recordings 1962-1963

Although Brenda Holloway was aged just 17 when Tamla Records issued her Every Little Bit Hurts in 1964, she had been releasing 45s in Los Angeles for over two years by then. A longstanding pipedream of compiler Mick Patrick, this collection gathers together all of those extremely collectable pre-fame recordings, most of which are making their CD debut. The set includes solo sides, duets, singles made by Brenda as a member of a girl group known variously as the Watesians and the Four J's and the ultra-rare Do The Del Viking by her younger sister Patrice, which features Brenda on back-ups. Some of these were issued on familiar labels like Donna, Era and 4J, while others were pressed on impossibly obscure logos such as Minasa, Snap, Catch, Taste and Brevit and others are previously unissued; what might otherwise have been a rather brief CD is bolstered by the inclusion of tracks from the vaults of Class Records and producer Kent Harris. All in all, where it all began for one of the most spectacular female vocalists ever to record for Motown.