This week’s final classic song by a female artist of the day is “Every Little Bit Hurts” by Brenda Holloway. This Motown classic was released as a single in April of 1964 and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on the Cash Box Top 100.
“Every Little Bit Hurts” was written by Ed Cobb, who also wrote tunes for Gloria Jones (“Tainted Love”—also a hit when covered by Soft Cell in 1981), the Standells (“Dirty Water”), and others. He later became a very successful producer and engineer, earning a total of 32 gold and platinum records, as well as three Grammy nominations.
Ed Cobb recorded “Every Little Bit Hurts” for Del-Fi Records in 1962 with a singer named Barbara Wilson. (She was Motown producer Frank Wilson’s first wife.) Cobb later took that recording to Motown, where producers Hal Davis and Marc Gordon recorded Brenda Holloway’s vocals over Cobb’s original backing track. As Mr. Cobb remembers it:
“I wrote ‘Every Little Bit Hurts,’ cut the tracks and had a girl named Barbara Wilson singing on it… I put the entire record together. Hal [Davis] came in with me and put on Brenda Holloway’s voice but I had produced the whole record. We mixed it down and sent it to [Berry] Gordy. When I finally got a copy of the record it listed Hal Davis and Marc Gordon as the producers but nothing was altered on the rhythm tracks. It was the exact same demo that I had brought to Motown in the first place.”
Brenda Holloway signed with Motown’s Tamla label in late 1963, when she was just 17 years old. Previously, she’d recorded some little-heard singles for some little-known labels; she got her big break when she sang at a party that was attended by Motown’s owner, Berry Gordy. She released a number of other singles for Motown, including “When I’m Gone” (1965), “Operator” (1965), and the original version of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (1967), which would become a huge hit when covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969. She left Motown in 1969 (rather acrimoniously, as it were) and joined the Invictus label founded by former Motown writer/producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland (AKA Holland-Dozier-Holland, AKA H-D-H). She didn’t have any further hits but found work as a session singer for Joe Cocker and others.
Ms. Holloway left the music business in the ’80s but returned to performing in 1992, where she doubled on gigs with Brenton Wood and others. She released her final album in 2003, and in 2005 Alicia Keys covered “Every Little Bit Hurts” for her MTV Unplugged special. Brenda Holloway is still alive today and living in California, aged 78.
So here’s your daily bonus video of the day, 17 year-old Brenda Holloway lip synching “Every Little Bit Hurts” on the June 6, 1964, episode of American Bandstand. She’s introduced by Dick Clark himself!
