Eddie Holman

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 gospel.

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 for his ballad "Hey There Lonely Girl", which was originally "Hey There Lonely Boy" by Ruby & the Romantics in 1963.

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 named "Little Eddie Holman."^[1]

At age 16, Holman started making 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] It was in the Philadelphia soul scene that he began to develop his trademark style. While still in college, he recorded his first hit record "This Can't Be True" (1966), which reached number 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 number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track peaked at number 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 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

• I Love You (1969)
• A Night to Remember (1977)
• United (1985)
• Love Story (2007)

Compilations:

• Eddie Holman and The Larks – Sweet Memories (1989)
• Eddie Holman and The Larks – Eddie's My Name (1993)
• This Can't Be True (2000)
• Hey There Lonely Girl (2014)

See also

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

External links

• Official website

This page was last edited on 9 April 2024, at 01:44