Biography
Soul singer Kim Tolliver entered the world in Lebanon, TN, though she spent her formative years in Cleveland’s Hough district. Local bar crowds came to know her for intense, dramatic renditions of blues and soul numbers, yet years of steady club work passed before she ever entered a studio. In 1967 the smoldering ballad “In Return for Your Love” appeared on Don Robey’s Sureshot imprint and vanished almost at once. Four subsequent sides emerged on Jack Taylor’s New York–based Rojac label; those Southern-fried soul performances are still regarded by listeners as the strongest work she ever committed to tape. Among them were the gospel-drenched “I’ll Try to Do Better,” “Tuesday Child” backed with “Cop My Stuff,” “Let Them Talk,” and “Driving Me Into the Arms of a Stranger.” During the same stretch she traveled widely, logging an extended 102-night run in Auckland, New Zealand, alongside the little-known soul singer Lou Ragland and even reaching stages in Australia.
Her next two singles surfaced on Gar Records. The up-tempo “I Caught You” offered a playful, tongue-in-cheek nod to Joe Tex, while “Got Myself Together” rode a warm Southern hook. Both Gar releases, along with several Rojac tracks, were written or produced by Fred Briggs, who later became her third husband. Her first spouse, blues singer Rex Robinson, perished in a car crash while returning from a Lorain, OH, engagement; her second, Leroy Grafrenreed, ran a Cleveland barbershop. Briggs himself had already written and produced for the Dells, Margie Joseph, the Goodies, and Johnny Taylor and had recorded under the name Coldwater Stone.
Guided by Briggs, Tolliver entered a notably active phase. She cut the two-part “How Long Can I Keep Holding on” for Superheavy Records under the name Big Ella, issued her debut album Passing Clouds on Fantasy in 1972 as Kimberly Briggs, and followed it a year later with Come and Get Me on Chess under her own name. Neither company pushed the LPs, which were deleted before most listeners ever encountered them. In 1975 she recorded the disco-flavored “I Don’t Know What Foot to Dance On” for Castro; co-written by Briggs and Andrew Hamilton, the track found favor in England’s Northern soul rooms. A dramatic 1968 single, “Standing Room Only,” appeared on Pathfinder and met the same commercial silence that had greeted her earlier efforts.
Despite the lack of sales, Tolliver remained a fixture on the Cleveland circuit, performing at the Chaz Bo, Spaghetti Inn, Music Box, and Gleasons, and she also drew crowds at Buffalo’s Revilot Club. She closed her recording career with two final 12-inch releases on Taylor’s Tay-Ster label—a new version of “Let Them Talk” and the track “Where Were You.” Her powerful style recalled Eddie Levert and Linda Jones, and she routinely whipped audiences into a frenzy. Frustrated by continuing obscurity and by the end of her marriage to Briggs, she left music for real estate, eventually building a stable livelihood with the support of her companion and sons Daryl and Andrew. By the 1990s the once-vital singer had developed Alzheimer’s, and Fred Briggs suffered a stroke. Her overlooked singles and albums have since become prized collector items; a bootleg compilation titled The Torrid Tolliver gathers eighteen tracks that include every single except the Castro release plus the strongest material from her two LPs.
Her next two singles surfaced on Gar Records. The up-tempo “I Caught You” offered a playful, tongue-in-cheek nod to Joe Tex, while “Got Myself Together” rode a warm Southern hook. Both Gar releases, along with several Rojac tracks, were written or produced by Fred Briggs, who later became her third husband. Her first spouse, blues singer Rex Robinson, perished in a car crash while returning from a Lorain, OH, engagement; her second, Leroy Grafrenreed, ran a Cleveland barbershop. Briggs himself had already written and produced for the Dells, Margie Joseph, the Goodies, and Johnny Taylor and had recorded under the name Coldwater Stone.
Guided by Briggs, Tolliver entered a notably active phase. She cut the two-part “How Long Can I Keep Holding on” for Superheavy Records under the name Big Ella, issued her debut album Passing Clouds on Fantasy in 1972 as Kimberly Briggs, and followed it a year later with Come and Get Me on Chess under her own name. Neither company pushed the LPs, which were deleted before most listeners ever encountered them. In 1975 she recorded the disco-flavored “I Don’t Know What Foot to Dance On” for Castro; co-written by Briggs and Andrew Hamilton, the track found favor in England’s Northern soul rooms. A dramatic 1968 single, “Standing Room Only,” appeared on Pathfinder and met the same commercial silence that had greeted her earlier efforts.
Despite the lack of sales, Tolliver remained a fixture on the Cleveland circuit, performing at the Chaz Bo, Spaghetti Inn, Music Box, and Gleasons, and she also drew crowds at Buffalo’s Revilot Club. She closed her recording career with two final 12-inch releases on Taylor’s Tay-Ster label—a new version of “Let Them Talk” and the track “Where Were You.” Her powerful style recalled Eddie Levert and Linda Jones, and she routinely whipped audiences into a frenzy. Frustrated by continuing obscurity and by the end of her marriage to Briggs, she left music for real estate, eventually building a stable livelihood with the support of her companion and sons Daryl and Andrew. By the 1990s the once-vital singer had developed Alzheimer’s, and Fred Briggs suffered a stroke. Her overlooked singles and albums have since become prized collector items; a bootleg compilation titled The Torrid Tolliver gathers eighteen tracks that include every single except the Castro release plus the strongest material from her two LPs.
Albums