Loleatta Holloway: Catch You on the Rebound, Sister

The news broke, for me, this morning. Soul singer, disco diva Loleatta Holloway has passed on to the other side. She, like so many other songstresses, is like an old friend. A lot of memories of Back Street and Menjo's in Detroit back in the day, with her wailing and Marky Mark's rap playing in the background - I am almost certain Diva Kingsley and I practiced our runway walk as their song thump, thump, thumped on the club's speaker system. Then my good friend, Cecil Gibbs, suggested I do her song Crash Goes Love on a show one night and I can't tell you how much fun of a lip sync that was for me. Nobody could holler, scream, belt, moan or even howl like Miss Loleatta Holloway. She had a signature style all her own.

To where one of her contemporaries may have sounded seemingly out of place, her delivery always made sense. It not only suited her, but it was expected. Then later in her career, she did a remake of Prince's I Wanna Be Your Lover, that I surely wore out at my drag shows here in South Florida. Her rendition is so smooth, yet upbeat and lively. I am also fond of her remake of You Light Up My Life (a lovely, soulful rendition of the Debby Boone hit), Madonna's Like A Prayer (from the tribute album Virgin Voices), Catch Me on the Rebound, Love Sensation, Hit and Run and Ride on Time (with Black Box) - all fabulous, disco/dance classics and chart successes. Not to mention all the countless times she has been sampled, remixed in to, out of, throughout, compiled, interpolated, et al.

There are so many more songs of hers that take me back, and that I still enjoy dusting off and listening to every now and then - or even do on a show on occasion. She is definitely one of my more fun 'voices' to do my female impersonation act to - and I just want to thank her - for the great songs, the fond memories at a club with friends ...and a fun, lively, on my toes lip sync for a show - either way she brought a lot of joy to so many lives.

Ms. Holloway was born November 5, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. She got her start, rooted in gospel music with Albertina Walker and the group the Caravans. She enjoyed a long and storied career, that spanned over four decades and was a mainstay primarily on the Billboard dance chart. Loleatta Holloway died on March 21, 2011, after a brief illness and slipping into a coma due to heart failure. She will be missed, but the legacy of not only her songs, but her singing style will surely live on.