Friday, May 25, 2012

The Holliday Dance

Jennifer Holliday

One of the great things to come out of this week's American Idol finale was the performance of the great Jennifer Holliday, who sounded as spectacular as ever. So when I was going to put together the post for the first night of the holiday weekend, of course she came to mind. Since I worked in the Village in the mid 1980s, I can certainly remember dancing in some of the clubs to the amazing "And I'm Telling You," which made it on the R&B and the Dance chart 1982, 2001, and 2007. It was a single off the Dreamgirls Original Broadway Recording, with many remixes of the song. It is a gift that keeps on giving.



In 1984, Jennifer proved to be more than an ordinary Broadway belter. With the release of the album Say You Love Me, the single "Hard Time For Lovers" went to #17 on the R&B chart, and #26 on the Dance chart.



With the strength of her voice, it is no surprise that was not her only hit. In 1985 and 1996, Holliday had the #1 on the Dance chart with "No Frills Love," certainly a memorable song. It was on the Say You Love Me album, as well a greatest hits collection, The Best of Jennifer Holliday.



Now, if there was a song that was written to eventually appear on RuPaul's Drag Race as a lip-sync-for-your-life song, it would be the hit off the album Breaking Through, "A Woman's Got The Power." Released in 2000, the song went to #7 on the Billboard Dance chart.



You can find the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection - The Best Of Jennifer Holliday on iTunes and Amazon. Crank up the volume and have a great "Holliday" weekend!

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