Nancy Holloway

Nancy Holloway née Brown December 11 1932 August 28 2019 was an American jazz pop and soul singer and actress who was popular during the 1960s in France where she continued to perform and live Born in Cleveland Ohio one of ten children of African American heritage Nancy Brown attended East Technical High School and married when in her teens The marriage was brief but she retained her husbands surname of Holloway She moved to New York City and took menial jobs before working as a dancer as part of the Beige Beauties troupe In 1954 she traveled to Paris France and was persuaded to sing on stage at the Mars Club Her performance was well received and she became a regular performer touring around Europe before returning to Paris She began singing at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in 1959 Encouraged by actor André Pousse she made her debut appearance on French television in 1961 and released her first single Le Boogie du bébé a French cover of Buzz Cliffords Baby Sittin Boogie That year she opened her own nightclub Chez Nancy Holloway and appeared in her first film Ballade pour un voyou She became successful as a yéyé style pop singer uniquely attractive in France as an American singer singing American songs specifically for the French market with a distinctly American accent that only added to her charm Further successful singles followed through the early and mid1960s including Quand un garçon me plaît based on Big Noise from Winnetka Dernier baiser a version of Sealed with a Kiss Dum dum Ten vas pas comme ça an adaptation of Dont Make Me Over Fich le camp Jack a version of Hit the Road Jack Bye Bye My Guy Elle taime She Loves You Estce que tu maimes Do You Love Me and Dislui que je ne suis pas là a duet with Nino Ferrer She appeared in several films in the early 1960s including Le bluffeur Cherchez lidole and Le gentleman de Cocody and for a time her acting work overshadowed her singing career though she continued to record She became a respected nightclub performer and appeared with such stars as Sammy Davis Jr Quincy Jones and Dizzy Gillespie In 1969 her album Hello Dolly marked a shift towards show tunes The death of her daughter led to a period of retirement but she returned as a concert performer in the 1980s In later life she became an active supporter of AIDS charities She retired from performing in 2008 and died in Paris in 2019 aged 86 Source Article Nancy Holloway from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30