Brenda Holloway “Don’t Stay Away” (1964, Unreleased)

 Brenda Holloway continues to reign supreme in her title as”Queen of The Basement.” The latest excavation of the Motown vaults find her swimming in a surplus of unreleased goodies either intended for singles or for her next album.

Indeed, fewer artists at Motown saw so much promising material go to absolute waste. Now one can really understand Brenda’s frustration after 4 years of consistently churning out magic that never got the chance to enrapture the public consciousness.

This splendid uptown soul Ballad in the title link is one of the earlier efforts between her and Frank Wilson as 1964 drew to a close. Given that Brenda was cast as Mary Wells #2 with her Detroit efforts that got priority, one can see how this lovely gem went unnoticed when it came time to start filling out her B-sides and abortive 2nd album.