John Holt is a reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 singer and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

.

Biography

Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns

Vere Johns

Vere Everette Johns was a Jamaican journalist, impresario, radio personality, and actor, who helped to launch the careers of many Jamaican musicians through his popular talent contests.-Biography:...

. He recorded

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 his first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1963 with "I Cried a Tear" for record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Leslie Kong

Leslie Kong

Leslie Kong was a Chinese Jamaican record producer.-Career:Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston...

, and also recorded duets

Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

 with Alton Ellis

Alton Ellis

Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...

.
He achieved prominence in his home country as lead singer of The Paragons

The Paragons

The Paragons were a rocksteady band from Kingston, Jamaica, active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member, John Holt.-Career:...

 and they cut a succession of singles for Duke Reid at his Treasure Isle Studio and enjoyed a string of hits

Hit record

A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

, including "Ali Baba", "Tonight", "I See Your Face", and the Holt penned "The Tide Is High

The Tide Is High

"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and originally performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer. The song went mainly unnoticed in the rest of the world until it was rediscovered in 1980 when it became a US/UK number 1 hit for the band Blondie...

" (later made famous by Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

 and also covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by Atomic Kitten

Atomic Kitten

Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...

). "Wear You To The Ball" was another of his hits with The Paragons, and hit the charts again when U-Roy

U-Roy

U-Roy , OD, is a Jamaican musician, also known as The Originator. He is best known as a pioneer of toasting.-Biography:...

 added a Deejay verse to it. During his time with the Paragons, he also recorded solo material for Studio One (including "Fancy Make-up", "A Love I Can Feel

I Want a Love I Can See

"I Want a Love I Can See" is a 1963 single by The Temptations for the Gordy label. The single was the group's first A-side to be written and produced by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Robinson had previously written the B-side "Slow Down Heart", but for over the past year Berry Gordy, Jr...

", "Let's Build Our Dreams", and "OK Fred") and Prince Buster

Prince Buster

Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...

 ("Oh Girl", and "My Heart Is Gone").

Holt left the Paragons in 1970 and concentrated on his solo career. By the early 1970s, he was one of the biggest stars of reggae, and his "Stick By Me" was the biggest selling Jamaican record of 1972, one of a number of records recorded with producer Bunny Lee

Bunny Lee

Edward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...

. His 1973 album, Time Is The Master, was successful, with orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

l arrangement

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

s recorded in London. The success of the string-laden reggae led to Trojan Records

Trojan Records

Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...

 issuing a series of similarly arranged albums produced by Bunny Lee starting with the 1,000 Volts of Holt in 1973, a compilation

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 of Holt's reggae cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

s of popular hits (and later followed by similarly named releases up to 3,000 Volts of Holt). 1,000 Volts spawned the UK

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...

 Top 10 hit "Help Me Make It Through the Night

Help Me Make It Through the Night

"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra...

" (written by Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

), which peaked at number 6, and also included covers of Billy Joel

Billy Joel

William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...

's "Just the Way You Are" and Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

's "Touch Me in the Morning

Touch Me in the Morning

"Touch Me in the Morning" is a popular song recorded by Diana Ross on the Motown label. It became her second solo number-one single in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973....

", amongst others.

Holt's style, notably slower and more romantic than most of his contemporaries, is a recognisable forerunner of the lovers rock

Lovers rock

Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...

sub-genre.

His song, "Man Next Door

Man Next Door

"Man Next Door" aka "Quiet Place"/"I've Got to Get Away" is a song originally written and performed by John Holt with his group The Paragons in 1967....

", has been covered by numerous other reggae artists including Dennis Brown

Dennis Brown

Dennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...

, UB40

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...

 and Horace Andy

Horace Andy

Horace Andy is a roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", "Angel", "Five Man Army" and a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine"....

. The latter sang in a more electronic vein for the Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...

 album, Mezzanine

Mezzanine (album)

Mezzanine is the third studio album by English trip hop group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998. It was produced by Neil Davidge along with the group. The album was released on Virgin Records....

.

Album discography

• A Love I Can Feel (1970) Bamboo
• Holt (1971) Jaguar
• Still in Chains (1971) Trojan
• Greatest Hits (1972) Melodisc
• OK Fred (1972) Melodisc
• Pledging My Love (1972) Jackpot/Trojan
• The Further You Look (1973) Trojan
• Time Is The Master (1973) Moodisc
• Dusty Roads (1974) Trojan
• Before the Next Tear Drop (1976) Klik
• Up Park Camp (1976) Channel One
• Channel One Presents The Magnificent John Holt (1977) Channel One
• Roots of Holt (1977) Trojan
• Showcase (New Disco Style) (1977) Thunderbolt
• Holt Goes Disco (1978) Trojan
• In Demand (1978) Dynamic Sounds
• Let It Go On (1978) Trojan
• Super Star (1978) Weed Beat
• The Impressable John Holt (Disco Mix) (1978) Harry J
• A1 Disco Showcase (1981) Taurus
• Introspective (1980) Dynamic Sounds
• My Desire (1980) Jackpot
• Just the Two of Us (1982) CSA
• Sweetie Come Brush Me (1982) Volcano
• Gold (1983) Creole
• Police in Helicopter (1983) Greensleeves
  Greensleeves Records
  Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in Britain....
  
  /Arrival
• For Lovers and Dancers (1984) Trojan
• Live In London (1984) Very Good
• Wild Fire (1985) Natty Congo/Tad's (with Dennis Brown
  Dennis Brown
  Dennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
  
  )
• Vibes (1985) Leggo Sounds
• The Reggae Christmas Hits Album (1986) Trojan
• From One Extreme to Another (1986) Beta
• Time Is The Master (1988) Creole
• Rock With Me Baby (1988) Trojan
• If I Were a Carpenter (1989)
• Why I Care (1989) Greensleeves
• Reggae, Hip House, R&B Flavor (1993)
• Peacemaker (1993)

There have also been dozens of compilations of Holt's work, starting in the early 1970s with a Greatest Hits compilation from Studio One, and notably followed by the 1,000 Volts... series on Trojan Records.

External links

• [ John Holt biography] at Allmusic website
  Website
  A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
  
  
• Riddimguide information
• Biography at Jamuzik
• John Holt at Roots Archives