Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday (* October 19, 1960 as Jennifer Yvette Holliday in Riverside, Texas) is an American musical and R & B singer and occasional actress who became famous by the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, above all. She was at the peak of their success as well as a Tony for the hit song from the musical, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, a Grammy for best R & B vocal performance of a singer. In the following years she established herself while on the R & B and dance market, but could never really build on the success of Dreamgirls.
Career
Jennifer Holliday sang as a child in church. Your Broadway career began in 1980 in the play Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, whose success eventually made the makers of the musical Dreamgirls attention to the singer. Her portrayal of Effie White made Holliday a star overnight. She has received numerous major awards, including the Tony, Drama Desk Award and the Theatre Award for her performance in 1982. The best R & B recording artist of the year they could in 1983 for the song And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going even take a Grammy in reception and thereby prevail against longtime superstars such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Donna Summer. As a single managed to And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going a number 22 on the pop and the top spot in the R & B charts in the USA. With I Am Changing also the second big ballad of the musical was released as a single, this was only in the R & B chart success (No. 29). Holliday took until 1984 Dreamgirls on, then they sought a recording career off the musical stage.
Holliday got a solo deal with Geffen Records, that record company, which had already published the Dreamgirls recordings. Her debut album Feel My Soul released in 1983 and was produced by Maurice White ( Earth, Wind & Fire ). With the decoupled ballad I Am Love Holliday continued the voiced previous singles, reached in the United States but only one ranked 49th in the R & B charts, however, they celebrated at No. 2 another big success. Feel My Soul with This Day also includes a composition by the gospel musician Edwin Hawkins. For the sophomore Say You Love Me (1985 ) Holliday worked with a number of different producers, they even acted as executive producer. The opening song You're the One was in charge of Michael Jackson as a composer and producer. Arthur Baker, however, produced the first two singles, Hard Times for Lovers and No Frills Love, both successful in the R & B charts, but again modestly in the pop charts. No Frills Love, however, gave Holliday the first number one in the dance charts in the U.S.. As a remarkable degree the album Say You Love Me was produced by Tommy LiPuma a version of the Duke Ellington classic Come Sunday, the presented Hollidays adaptability to the test and again won her a Grammy. In 1985 also appeared the singer in the musical Sing, Mahalia, Sing on as Mahalia Jackson. The role was previously offered to Aretha Franklin.
Also the 1987 album Get Close to my Love was in charge of various producers, Holliday took over again executive role. The opening song New at It was written by Ashford & Simpson, Michael McDonald and David Pack (Ambrosia ) contributed He Is not Special ( He's Just the One I Love ) and Tommy LiPuma produced at the same four songs. However, the first single Heart on the Line failed due to the Top 40 of the R & B charts and Holliday consequently lost their record deal. In 1991, she returned with a new record deal with Arista and the CD I'm on Your Side. The title track was ranked 10 of the previously last top 10 success of Holliday in the R & B charts.
With the album On & On (1994 ) to Holliday turned to gospel music. Negligible later, her career got a major boost, among other things, a collection of her greatest hits ( The Best of Jennifer Holliday ), a remix of No Frills Love (1996) and the singles A Woman's Got the Power (1999) and Think It Over ( 2000), a remake of an old disco hits of Cissy Houston. All songs were great successes on the dance market, No Frills Love and Think It Over even managed the leap to number one on the corresponding charts. Even as an actress Holliday came into existence: Between 1997 and 2001 she appeared as Lisa Knowles in some episodes of the series Ally McBeal. Roles in the series Touched by an Angel and Hang Time as well as the film The Rising Place followed. In 2000, she also received an honorary doctorate in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2006, a film version of Dreamgirls in theaters, among others, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, who occupied the role that was once made famous by Holliday. Holliday himself received no role in the movie, a circumstance which very disappointed the singer in his own words. In 2011, she released a new gospel album.
Private
Jennifer Holliday was married twice. The marriage to Billy Meadows failed in 1991 after only a few months. At the same time attended the obese since young singer hit the headlines with a diet where she lost about 55 pounds. In early 1993, Holliday married the pastor and gospel musician Andre Woods, the couple separated after less than two years.