Though her fame was eclipsed by older sister Brenda, the late Patrice Holloway is still well-remembered by legions of Motown fans worldwide.  The co-writer of "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and a voice for Hanna-Barbera’s cartoon stars Josie and the Pussycats, Patrice receives her first-ever CD anthology courtesy of Ace's Kent label.  Love and Desire: The Patrice Holloway Anthology was originally slated to coincide with Kent's release of Brenda Holloway's The Early Years in 2009, which collected Brenda's pre-Motown sides.  The project's delay turned out to be for the best, as Ace has since entered into a relationship with Motown allowing unreleased material to finally see the light of day.  So Love and Desire, due on June 7 in the U.K., will round up all nine of Patrice's Capitol single recordings plus all sixteen tracks she recorded for Motown, ten of which have never before been released.

Patrice Holloway was born in 1951 into a musical family and began penning songs with her older sister Brenda while in her teens.  A one-off single produced by Hal Davis appeared on the small Taste label in the summer of 1963 and she could be heard, uncredited, on a number of girl group discs.  The Davis connection led to the Holloway sisters becoming the first West Coast artists signed by Berry Gordy to his burgeoning Motown empire.  It wasn't long, though, before Gordy advised Patrice to continue her studies and graduate from school.  While Brenda's "Every Little Bit Hurts" was an immediate success at Motown, only one single trickled out for Patrice. "Stevie" b/w "(He Is) The Boy Of My Dreams" appeared in December 1963 on Gordy’s V.I.P. imprint in tribute to Little Stevie Wonder.  Yet before graduating high school, Patrice's background vocals were heard accompanying artists such as Sam Cooke, Johnny Rivers and Ike Turner.  After her departure from the Motown roster, producers Billy and Gene Page snagged Patrice a deal with Capitol.

At Capitol, Patrice worked first with the Page brothers, and then with David Axelrod, who was producing Lou Rawls at the time.  None of Patrice's Capitol singles set the charts ablaze, but they kept her profile up and later became favorites on the U.K. Northern Soul scene.  The Northern Soul movement saw "Stolen Hours" become an all-time favorite, and Patrice gained a large, appreciative audience abroad.  As the seventies emerged, Holloway continued singing background vocals (she can be heard on Joe Cocker's famous "With a Little Help From My Friends") and signed to Lou Adler's Ode label as part of all-star gospel aggregation Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles.

It was back at Capitol, though, that Patrice gained onscreen immortality along with Cathy Douglas and Cherie Moor (later Cheryl Ladd) as a member of animated trio Josie and the Pussycats.  Holloway portrayed Valerie opposite Douglas' Josie and Moor's Melody in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series which spawned an album and singles on Capitol.  Producer Danny Janssen (also well-known for his work with The Partridge Family) fought for the inclusion of the African-American Holloway in the cartoon group, and animation and television history was made.  Kent's comprehensive Holloway overview includes virtually all of the singer's solo tracks but none of the Josie and the Pussycats material.  (A 2001 Rhino Handmade limited edition was a quick sell-out and fetches high prices today.  Perhaps Ace will consider a reissue in the future?)

A few more solo tracks at Capitol followed the Pussycats' success, but commercial success again eluded Patrice under her own name.  When Josie went off the air, Patrice kept busy lending her vocals in support of Joe Cocker, Thelma Houston, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston, Bobby Womack, and Neil Young.  She contributed songs as a writer to the soundtrack to Diana Ross' Motown-produced film Mahogany in 1975, and continued working until her death in 2006.

Hit the jump for the full track listing plus discographical information for this exciting new anthology!

Love and Desire: The Patrice Holloway Anthology hits stores on June 7.  A pre-order link and track listing with discographical information follows!

Patrice Holloway, Love and Desire: The Patrice Holloway Anthology (Kent, 2011)

1. Stolen Hours (Capitol single 5680, 1966)
2. Lucky My Boy (Capitol single 5680, 1966)
3. Ecstasy (Capitol single 5778, 1967)
4. Love And Desire (Capitol single 5778, 1967)
5. That's All You Got To Do (Capitol single 5985, 1967)
6. Stay With Your Own Kind (Capitol single 5985, 1967)
7. Evidence (Capitol single 3176, 1971)
8. That's The Chance You Gotta Take (Capitol single 3176, 1971)
9. Black Mother Goose (Capitol single 3265, 1972)
10. The Touch Of Venus (first released on A Cellarful of Motown! Volume 1 (Motown 314 544 620-2, 2002)
11. Those DJ Shows (first released on A Cellarful of Motown! Volume 2 (Motown/Universal (U.K.) 982 929-7, 2005)
12. For The Love Of Mike (first released on This Is Northern Soul: The Motown Sound Volume 1, Motown (U.K.), 2005)
13. Stevie (V.I.P. single 25001, 1964)
14. My 2 Arms - You = Tears
15. Come Into My Palace (with Brenda Holloway) (first released on Brenda Holloway: The Motown Anthology, Motown (U.K.), 2005)
16. All That's Good
17. I Got To Change
18. Tall Boy
19. Flippitty Flop
20. The Go Gang
21. Love Walked Right In
22. Crying
23. Face In The Crowd
24. Surf Stomp (aka Beach Stomp)
25. (He Is) The Boy Of My Dreams (V.I.P. single 25001, 1964)

Tracks 14, 16-24 previously unreleased.