Josie and the Pussycats was a 1970s girl group designed to be the real-life incarnation of the eponymous fictional band in the Archie comic book and Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon series.

Her early Capitol singles, all highly collectible, include "Ecstasy," “Stay With Your Own Kind,” and "Stolen Hours" (released between 1965 and 1967).

Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor had come to Hollywood from her native South Dakota with a country and western band that broke up and went back home almost immediately upon arrival.

Janssen presented the newly formed band to William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to finalize the production deal, but was in for a major surprise.

Hanna-Barbera wanted Janssen to recast Holloway, as they had decided to portray "Josie and the Pussycats" as an all-White trio, altering Valerie's character to make her Caucasian.

Janssen refused to recast Holloway, whose voice he felt he needed for the soul-inspired bubblegum pop songs he had written, and threatened to walk away from the project.

The Josie and the Pussycats sound is modeled after the late 1960s Detroit acts such as Motown's the Jackson 5 and Hot Wax Records' Honey Cone.

[2] Holloway also sings lead on the Josie and the Pussycats theme song, which was written by Hanna-Barbera musical director Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

The album, plus several singles and alternate takes, were collected in a limited edition digitally remastered set entitled Josie and the Pussycats: Stop Look and Listen: The Capitol Recordings, released by Rhino Handmade on October 5, 2001.