Brenda Holloway - 20th Century Masters: The Best Of Brenda Holloway (2003)

Brenda Holloway is one of the unsung heroes of the Motown story. She had a soulful, gritty voice; stunning good looks; great songs (some of which she wrote herself); but no hits. Her signature song was her drop-dead ballad "Every Little Bit Hurts," and she also wrote and recorded the original of "You Made Me So Very Happy," later a hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears. Both of those songs are on this collection, as well as nine other solid cuts by Holloway, making this a good collection for Motown and soul fans who want to check out this fine singer. That being said, it is a shame that Motown took 1999's The Very Best of Brenda Holloway out of print. It was a much better collection, containing 15 tracks, a couple of them previously unreleased. Even better is the collection on Spectrum, Greatest Hits & Rare Classics, which contains 18 tracks. Hunt that one down for the best Holloway available and hope for a true definitive collection to come out someday.