  brenda holloway (born june 21, 1946) is an american singer and songwriter, who was a recording artist for motown records during the 1960s. her best-known recordings are the soul hits, "every little bit hurts", "when i'm gone", and "you've made me so very happy." the latter, which she co-wrote, was later widely popularized when it became a top ten hit for blood, sweat & tears. she left motown after four years, at the age of 22, and largely retired from the music industry until the 1990s, after her recordings had become popular on the british "northern soul" scene. ==biography== ===early life and career=== she was born in atascadero, california, the eldest of three children to wade and johnnie mae (fossett) holloway.kimasi l. browne, brenda holloway: los angeles' contribution to motown, in jacqueline cogdell djedje and eddie s. meadows (eds.), california soul: music of african americans in the west, university of california press, 1998, pp.321-351 in 1948, she and her infant brother, wade, jr., moved with their parents to the watts section of los angeles where her sister, patrice, was born in 1951. brenda took up violin, flute and piano and sang in her church choir, as well as developing a love of classical music. at the age of 14, brenda began working on demonstration records and singing backup for los angeles-based r&b acts,{{cite web|url=|title=biography: brenda holloway|last=
1946_births African-American_female_singers African-American_musicians American_singer-songwriters American_soul_singers Ike_&_Tina_Turner_members Living_people Motown_artists Musicians_from_California Northern_soul_musicians People_from_San_Luis_Obispo_County,_California People_from_Watts,_Los_Angeles People_from_the_Greater_Los_Angeles_Area