Eddie Holman

Last updated

Eddie Holman
Born (1946-06-03) June 3, 1946 (age 77)
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, minister
Years active1956–present
Labels
Website eddieholman.com

Eddie Holman (born June 3, 1946) is an American singer, musician, and minister, best known for his distinctively high singing voice and his 1970 hit song "Hey There Lonely Girl". His specialties range from R&B and pop to soul and gospel.

Contents

Holman started his career in 1962 when he gained initial fame with his first record "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You". He recorded his first hit record "This Can't Be True" (1966), followed by "Am I a Loser from the Start" (1966), "I Love You" (1969), "Don't Stop Now" (1970), and "Cathy Called" (1970). Starting in 1970, Holman received critical acclaim with "Hey There Lonely Girl", which was originally "Hey There Lonely Boy" by Ruby & the Romantics in 1963. Following this, Holman performed "This Will Be a Night to Remember" (1977) and "You Make My Life Complete" (1977).

Early life

Holman was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 3, 1946. At age 8, he and his mother moved to New York City. [1] There, his mother exposed him to the piano, guitar, singing, and the performing arts. [2] He was a regular performer on NBC's The Children's Hour and was nicknamed "Little Eddie Holman." [1]

At age 16, Holman started to make records. He later moved to Philadelphia with his family. After graduating from high school, he attended Cheyney State University, where he graduated with a degree in music.[ citation needed ]

Career

In 1962, Holman made his first record "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You" on Leopard Records. [1] In the Philadelphia soul scene, he developed his trademark style. While in college, he recorded his first hit record "This Can't Be True" (1966), which reached #17 on the Billboard chart. [1] Other hits began to follow: "Am I a Loser from the Start" (1966), "I Love You" (1969), "Don't Stop Now" (1970), and "Cathy Called" (1970). In 1970, Holman received critical acclaim with his ballad "Hey There Lonely Girl" (originally "Hey There Lonely Boy", a top 30 hit recorded in 1963 by Ruby & the Romantics), [3] which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track peaked at #4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1974. [4] It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc from the R.I.A.A. in March 1970. [5]

British journalist Tony Cummings once wrote: "Eddie Holman's voice, an astonishing precision instrument which can leap octaves with the speed of mercury and bend notes into shapes unimagined by lesser singers, has assured its possessor a place in soul history." [6]

In 1977, Holman had a brief resurgence in popularity with his last two hit singles "This Will Be a Night to Remember" and "You Make My Life Complete". [3] He has credited artists such as Jackie Wilson and Nat King Cole as a huge influence. [7]

Holman owns his own record label Agape Records [3] and music publishing company Schoochiebug Music Publishing ASCAP. [8] He continues to tour with the Eddie Holman Band. During the summer of 2007, Holman performed weekly for the passengers aboard the Sun Princess cruise ship while it was en route to the inside passage of Alaska.

Personal life

Holman is an ordained Baptist minister who uses his musical talents both as a tool of entertainment and his faith. He believes that his talent is a gift from God and therefore must be used to glorify Him. Furthermore, it is his belief that "those who are blessed with creative talent have a responsibility to encourage personal accountability and to set the best example possible because of the powerful influence that they have on the lives of so many young ones." He once said, "Lyrics send powerful messages that impact the listener of songs in ways that the artist will never know. No genre of music is flawless and no music culture is completely bad." [9]

Discography

Compilations:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Kendricks</span> American singer (1939–1992)

Edward James Kendrick, better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s including the number-one singles "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Carter</span> American singer-songwriter

Clarence George Carter is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away", "Back Door Santa", "Patches" (1970) and "Strokin'" (1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiki Dee</span> English pop singer (born 1947)

Pauline Matthews better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashford & Simpson</span> American songwriting and recording duo

Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production, recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Williams (singer)</span> South African singer (1942–2005)

Danny Williams was a South African-born British pop singer who earned the nickname "Britain's Johnny Mathis", for his smooth and stylish way with a ballad. He is best known for his 1961 UK number one version of "Moon River" and his 1964 U.S. top ten hit, "White on White".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Floyd</span> American soul-R&B singer and songwriter

Eddie Lee Floyd is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van McCoy</span> American musician, producer and songwriter (1940–1979)

Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit "The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit, and produced songs by such recording artists as Brenda & the Tabulations, David Ruffin, The Stylistics, The Presidents, Faith, Hope & Charity, New Censation, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Aretha Franklin, Peaches & Herb, Lesley Gore, and Stacy Lattisaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Davis (singer)</span> Musical artist

Paul Lavon Davis was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his radio hits and solo career that started worldwide in 1970. His career encompassed soul, country, and pop. His most successful songs are 1977's "I Go Crazy", a No. 7 pop hit that once held the record for the longest chart run on the Billboard Hot 100, and 1982's "'65 Love Affair", which at No. 6 is his highest-charting single. Another pop hit, "Cool Night", was released in 1981. In the mid-1980s, he also had two No. 1 country hits as a guest vocalist on songs by Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.

Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby & the Romantics</span> American R&B Vocal Group

Ruby & the Romantics was an Akron, Ohio-based American R&B group in the 1960s, composed of Ruby Nash, George Lee, Ronald Mosely, Leroy Fann and Ed Roberts.

Walter "Bunny" Sigler was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.

The Pioneers are a Jamaican reggae, soul and rocksteady vocal trio, whose main period of success was in the 1960s. The trio has had different line-ups, and still occasionally performs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Duvivier</span> American jazz double-bassist

George Duvivier was an American jazz double-bassist.

Roy Charles Hammond, better known as Roy C or Roy "C", was an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, "Shotgun Wedding". Another song, "Impeach the President", which he recorded and produced with a high school group, the Honey Drippers, has had one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip hop music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Hunt</span> American singer (born 1933)

Tommy Hunt is an American soul/northern soul singer, and a 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee as a member of famed R&B group The Flamingos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Hawkins (drummer)</span> American drummer (1945–2021)

Roger G. Hawkins was an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama. Rolling Stone ranked Hawkins number 31 on its list of greatest drummers.

Small Faces were an English British beat band formed in 1965 by Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston. Heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues, they later evolved into a psychedelic act before disbanding in 1969.

Ronald Dyson was an American soul and R&B singer and actor. He had a lead role in the Broadway production of Hair and scored a top ten single in 1970 with "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey There Lonely Girl</span> 1969 single by Eddie Holman

"Hey There Lonely Girl" is a song released in 1969 by Eddie Holman. The original version, "Hey There Lonely Boy", was recorded in 1963 by Ruby & the Romantics. It was a hit for both of them. It has since been recorded by many other artists.

The History of Rock and Roll is a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969, and again in 1978 and 1981. It is currently distributed as both a 2+12-minute short feature on internet networks, and a two-hour weekly series hosted by Wink Martindale, distributed to radio stations nationwide. This list below reflects the contents of the more widely heard 1978 version of The History of Rock & Roll.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hillegass, Sean (December 2, 2004). "Flashback to the 70s: Eddie Holman". The Standard Report. Archived from the original on November 20, 2006.
  2. "Biography". Eddie Holman's official website. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1175/6. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 258. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  5. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  261. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  6. Blues & Soul. Napfield Limited. June 1985.
  7. The Newsroom. "'Jackie Wilson said, 'You ain't gotta dance Eddie!'". www.lep.co.uk. Lancashire Post. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  8. "ACE Repertory". Ascap.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  9. "Biography". Eddie Holman's official website. Retrieved October 3, 2019.