Eloise Laws (born November 6, 1943) is an American singer and a member of the Laws family of musicians from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Biography

Lavern Eloise Laws was born in Houston, Texas, as the fourth of eight children of Miola Luverta Donahue and Hubert Laws, Sr. Born into a family of musicians, her siblings include flutist

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubert of Liège (or Hubertus) (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and m ...

, saxophonist

Ronnie Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by FreakBob Gaudio and Bob Crewe * "Ronnie" (Metallica song), a song from the Metallica album ''Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an associ ...

, and vocalist

Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American ba ...

. In the 1970s, she was the first replacement for singer Marilyn McCoo in

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

. She then began recording for Holland-Dozier-Holland's Music Merchant and later Invictus labels. Her first album, ''Ain't It Good Feeling Good'', was released on Invictus in 1977. Unfortunately, both labels folded. Laws released the LP ''Eloise'' (ABC) later the same year and ''Eloise Laws'' (Liberty) in 1980, both of which featured the songwriting and producing talents of

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter, lyricist, background singer and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successfu ...

. Eloise has been credited as one of the backing singers on her brother Ronnie's 1980 LP ''Every Generation''. After ''All in Time,'' for Capitol, followed two years later, Laws was featured on albums from such artists as

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew ...

Lee Oskar Lee Oskar (born 24 March 1948) is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which was formed by Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. H ...

, Aquarian Dream,

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...

as well as several releases by her siblings. She did not record another solo album until the late 1990s. Meanwhile, she pursued a career on stage, starring in the Tony-nominated musical, '' It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues'', which she also co-wrote.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1977: ''Ain't It Good Feeling Good'' (

Invictus Records Invictus Records was an American record label based in Detroit, Michigan. It was created by former top Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). It was the sister l ...

) * 1977: ''Eloise'' (ABC) * 1980: ''Eloise Laws'' (Liberty) * 1982: ''All in Time'' (Capitol) * 2000: ''The Key'' (Scepterstein) * 2003: ''Secrets'' (Scepterstein)

Compilations

* 1999: ''Love Factory: The Invictus Sessions'' (Castle)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Eloise American musical theatre actresses 1943 births Living people Musicians from Houston Actresses from Houston 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers