Dick Holler
Encyclopedia
Dick Holler is a songwriter, pianist and performer. He is best known as the writer of the folk-pop
standard "Abraham, Martin and John
" which has been recorded by numerous artists including Dion
, Ray Charles
, Kenny Rogers
, Emmylou Harris
, Andy Williams
, Marvin Gaye
.
in 1951, where he later graduated from University High School and attended Louisiana State University
for five years. It was while attending LSU that he began to play piano and organize bands and writing songs with his college friends.
(Beverly Hillbillies
' Elly May) and Elizabeth Ashley
, and movie critic Rex Reed
.
During a January 1956 "Teen Town Rally" TV show he met musician brothers Ike, Tommy and Jimmy Clanton
.
He tried, and was successful in signing the underage guitar player and vocalist Jimmy Clanton to play with his band at that time as well as his neighborhood band, "The Dixie Cats".
In May 1956, a four-piece band was formed to play a four-night-a-week gig, that included Holler on piano, Jimmy Clanton on lead guitar, Mike Bankston on drums, and Ed Winston on tenor sax with occasional bassist Leonard Root. A club owner later changed the band's name to Dick Holler and the Carousel Rockets, shortened to The Rockets.
The Rockets at times also included Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack
, Grady Caldwell, Bobby Loveless (regional hit Night Owl), Jack Bunn, Junior Bergeron (Van Broussard band), Lenny Capello (Cotton Candy - RIC Records), Merlin Jones, Don Smith and Cyril Vetter
(the writers of Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
, and others. Also sitting in at times was another Baton Rouge guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Johnny Ramistella, later known as "Johnny Rivers
".
By 1957, The Rockets were recording at Cosimo Matassa
’s Studio in New Orleans. Holler and Clanton each got recording deals on Johnny Vincent’s Ace label
and The Rockets backed Clanton on his first release, "I Trusted You".
Soon Jimmy Clanton embarked on a solo career and Holler continued to front The Rockets until signed by Herald-Ember Records in 1961. Herald-Ember changed the band name to Dick Holler and the Holidays.
From August, 1962 until May 1965 the Holidays based and performed in and around Columbia, South Carolina
. Their 1964 third single release, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
", later become a hit in 1966 by "The Swingin' Medallions
".
Holler later disbanded The Holidays
, and, at the urging of producer Phil Gernhard, rewrote one of his Baton Rouge songs as "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
". Recorded by a band from Ocala, Florida
, The Royal Guardsmen
in 1966 for Laurie Records
, the song became an instant hit, peaking at number two in the U.S.and number eight in the United Kingdom
.
In 1968, Dion (Dimucci)
’s recording of Holler's composition in tribute to the fallen Bobby Kennedy
, "Abraham, Martin and John" reached the Billboard
Top Five becoming a folk-pop standard known worldwide. This song was considered of such significance that it was the first of twenty songs discussed in Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America’s Best-Loved Patriotic Songs (ISBN 0060513047), a book by Ace Collins.
Besides Dion’s, four other versions made the Billboard Top 40, distinguishing it as the only song in history to make the Billboard Top 40 five times with five different artists. Abraham, Martin and John also received the BMI Four Million Airplay award, making the song one of the most prestigious songs of the twentieth century.
. Holler shares time between Switzerland
and Georgia, USA
. He has had several releases enter the European top 5 and top 10. Each year, Holler returns to Baton Rouge for a one night reunion with his old friends and musicians at the Baton Rouge Eagles' Club.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
standard "Abraham, Martin and John
Abraham, Martin and John
"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy...
" which has been recorded by numerous artists including Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
.
Early life
He moved with his family to Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
in 1951, where he later graduated from University High School and attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
for five years. It was while attending LSU that he began to play piano and organize bands and writing songs with his college friends.
Career
Holler performed for two years on the local award-winning record rating TV teen show "Hit or Miss" along with future actresses Donna DouglasDonna Douglas
Donna Douglas is an American actress best known for her role as Elly May Clampett, in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
(Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
' Elly May) and Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:...
, and movie critic Rex Reed
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
.
During a January 1956 "Teen Town Rally" TV show he met musician brothers Ike, Tommy and Jimmy Clanton
Jimmy Clanton
Jimmy Clanton is an American singer who became known as the "swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just A Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number four on the Billboard chart and sold a million copies...
.
He tried, and was successful in signing the underage guitar player and vocalist Jimmy Clanton to play with his band at that time as well as his neighborhood band, "The Dixie Cats".
In May 1956, a four-piece band was formed to play a four-night-a-week gig, that included Holler on piano, Jimmy Clanton on lead guitar, Mike Bankston on drums, and Ed Winston on tenor sax with occasional bassist Leonard Root. A club owner later changed the band's name to Dick Holler and the Carousel Rockets, shortened to The Rockets.
The Rockets at times also included Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, Grady Caldwell, Bobby Loveless (regional hit Night Owl), Jack Bunn, Junior Bergeron (Van Broussard band), Lenny Capello (Cotton Candy - RIC Records), Merlin Jones, Don Smith and Cyril Vetter
Cyril Vetter
Cyril Vetter's career has spanned a variety of industries, including music, broadcasting and publishing. He owned TV and radio stations, a television production firm, newspapers as well as music recording and publishing companies. Vetter is best known for the popular song "Double Shot " co-written...
(the writers of Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
Double Shot is a popular song written by Don Smith and Cyril Vetter and originally recorded by Dick Holler & the Holidays. It was later recorded by The Swingin' Medallions who released it as their second single in 1966. The song became a Top 20 hit for the group, peaking at #17 on the U.S....
, and others. Also sitting in at times was another Baton Rouge guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Johnny Ramistella, later known as "Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
".
By 1957, The Rockets were recording at Cosimo Matassa
Cosimo Matassa
Cosimo Matassa is an Italian-American recording engineer and studio owner responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings....
’s Studio in New Orleans. Holler and Clanton each got recording deals on Johnny Vincent’s Ace label
Ace Records (US)
Ace Records was a record label that was started in August 1955 in Jackson, Mississippi by Johnny Vincent, with Teem Records as its budget subsidiary. Ace also had the Vin label. Its records were distributed independently until 1962 when a distribution arrangement was set up with Vee-Jay Records....
and The Rockets backed Clanton on his first release, "I Trusted You".
Soon Jimmy Clanton embarked on a solo career and Holler continued to front The Rockets until signed by Herald-Ember Records in 1961. Herald-Ember changed the band name to Dick Holler and the Holidays.
From August, 1962 until May 1965 the Holidays based and performed in and around Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. Their 1964 third single release, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)
Double Shot is a popular song written by Don Smith and Cyril Vetter and originally recorded by Dick Holler & the Holidays. It was later recorded by The Swingin' Medallions who released it as their second single in 1966. The song became a Top 20 hit for the group, peaking at #17 on the U.S....
", later become a hit in 1966 by "The Swingin' Medallions
The Swingin' Medallions
The Swingin' Medallions are an American beach music group from Greenwood, South Carolina.-History:The band was formed as The Medallions in 1962 adding the "Swingin'" in 1965; possibly as a tribute to the Swingin' Travelers, an R&B group popular in South Carolina in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
".
Holler later disbanded The Holidays
The Holidays
The Holidays are an Australian indie pop/soul band. Formed in Sydney in 2006, the band consists of Simon Jones, Will Magnus, Alex Kortt and Andrew Kerridge...
, and, at the urging of producer Phil Gernhard, rewrote one of his Baton Rouge songs as "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
"Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" is a novelty song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by the Florida based rock band, The Royal Guardsmen. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida, and was released as a single on Laurie Records...
". Recorded by a band from Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
, The Royal Guardsmen
The Royal Guardsmen
The Royal Guardsmen are an American rock band, best known for their 1966 hit single "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron".-Snoopy vs. the Red Baron:...
in 1966 for Laurie Records
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
, the song became an instant hit, peaking at number two in the U.S.and number eight in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In 1968, Dion (Dimucci)
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
’s recording of Holler's composition in tribute to the fallen Bobby Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
, "Abraham, Martin and John" reached the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Top Five becoming a folk-pop standard known worldwide. This song was considered of such significance that it was the first of twenty songs discussed in Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America’s Best-Loved Patriotic Songs (ISBN 0060513047), a book by Ace Collins.
Besides Dion’s, four other versions made the Billboard Top 40, distinguishing it as the only song in history to make the Billboard Top 40 five times with five different artists. Abraham, Martin and John also received the BMI Four Million Airplay award, making the song one of the most prestigious songs of the twentieth century.
Later years
In October 2007, at a performance in Baton Rouge, Dick Holler was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of FameLouisiana Music Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame is an IRS certified 501 non-profit organization based in the state capitol of Baton Rouge, La., that seeks to preserve Louisiana's rich music culture and heritage and to further educate its citizens and people worldwide about the state’s unique role contributing...
. Holler shares time between Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Georgia, USA
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He has had several releases enter the European top 5 and top 10. Each year, Holler returns to Baton Rouge for a one night reunion with his old friends and musicians at the Baton Rouge Eagles' Club.