R.I.P., Loleatta Holloway

By: Joseph Middleton

Loleatta Holloway, former member of The Caravans and renowned disco artist, died on Monday, March 21 at the age of 64 after a brief illness. Holloway joined The Caravans in late 1966 to replace Shirley Caesar, who'd left the group to pursue a solo career. Holloway stayed with The Caravans until the early 1970s, when she began to pursue a solo career. Holloway's music became popular during the disco era, and she scored her biggest hit, "Love Sensation" in 1980. Holloway continued to have dance hits through the 2000s which charted in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. Holloway rarely participated in reunions with The Caravans, but participated in the reunion of members at Albertina Walker's funeral in 2010 with Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Norwood, Inez Andrews, Gwenn Morgan, James Herndon and Delores Washington.

Memorial services for Holloway will be held in Chicago on Thursday, March 31 at Rainbow PUSH Coalition. 930 E. 50th St. Chicago, IL, 60615. The viewing will be from 1-6pm, and the memorial will be from 6-10pm.

Here's Holloway singing with The Caravans in 1969 on "Help is On The Way."