Music Diaries | Volts of Holt

When a 12-year-old named John Holt appeared on the popular Vere Johns Opportunity Hour talent show in the late 1950s, the quality of his voice astonished many. There was much talk about his future as a vocalist, and in 1962, his talent caught the attention of the Jamaican-Chinese entrepreneur Leslie Kong, who decided to invest in the young singer. He produced two songs that Holt had written - I Cried All My Tears and Forever I'll Stay.

Shortly after, Holt joined forces with Alton Ellis to record Rum Bumper for another young Chinese-Jamaican producer, Clive Randy Chin. The three recordings didn't make much of an impact, neither did a few others that followed.

 

The Paragons

 

Holt was still virtually unknown until a day in 1963 when a friend told him about some guys who were rehearsing at the back of the Kingston Parish Church. During a chat with him from his home in Meadowbrook Estate, he told me: "I was on King Street one day and my friend Lloydie Custard told me that some brothers up by Kingston Parish Church were singing. So we took a walk up there, and that's where I got involved with the Paragons."

Bob Andy, who started the group, told me, "We had settled with Evans, Barrett, and me, then someone told us about John, who was on his way to becoming a solo artiste, and so we got him into the group. For what he was about, he was ideal and fit perfectly."

And so Holt was given the role of lead vocal when the quartet entered Studio One for the first time to record as the Paragons. The songs presented to Studio owner Clement Dodd were I Was Lonely (Love At Last) and Play Girl. Still, they didn't make much of an impression.

When Bob Andy left the group shortly after, things took a downward turn as they struggled to find a replacement. However, after deciding to remain a trio, they went to the Treasure Isle Recording Studio at Bond Street in downtown Kingston, and inked a deal with the other top record producer of the day - Duke 'The Trojan' Reid in 1966. It was the turning point in the group and Holt's career.

 

Holt's contribution

 

As we remember Holt on this, the fourth anniversary of his passing (October 19), we recall the enormous contribution he has made to the establishment of the group, and, by extension, Jamaican popular music. His mellifluous tenor voice, writing skills, and music arrangements were crucial to making the group, perhaps, the most harmonious trio ever in the history of Jamaican popular music.

Those who were around may never forget the dulcet tones that came across from Wear You To the Ball, adopted and made a big rap recording by U-Roy; The Tide Is High, which the American group Blondie took to No.1 on both the UK singles and the American Billboard Hot100 charts; On the Beach which triggered the 'hops' fad and generated beer sales all over the Island; Only A Smile; and their first big hit, Happy Go Lucky Girl, a recording that chided a carefree woman with the words:

"Everyone in town knows about you,

Happy go lucky girl.

The life you live isn't too good,

Happy go lucky girl."

By mid 1967, Holt had consolidated his position as one of Jamaica's top vocalists. His efforts with the group earned for him no less than 16 top-10 hits before he transitioned into a solo career. Producers Richard Khouri, Phil Pratt, and Bunny Lee then got a piece of the action, with Lee benefiting the most, particularly from the recording Stick By Me a Shep and The Limelites original. It sat for 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Jamaican charts, becoming the biggest-selling single in 1972 and Holt's all-time signature hit.

Holt made a re-entry at Studio One with the very successful album A Love I Can Feel, which spawned the classics Do You Love Me, Why Can't I Touch You, Fancy Make-up and Stranger In Love. He stepped into the international arena in 1973, with orchestral arrangements on the UK-released album Time Is The Master. Its success led to the larger-than-life Trojan Records releasing similarly arranged recordings by the maestro. One such was the album 1000 Volts of Holt, which spawned the UK top-10 hit, Help Me Make It Through The Night, among others. These efforts truly established Holt as an international reggae star.

Heading back home in the mid-1970s, Holt had collaborations with producers Bunny Lee and Joseph Hoo Kim, the latter producing Up Park Camp and Satisfaction. But it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to connect his balladeer style with the younger audience. He temporarily reverted to roots and dancehall in recordings like Fat She Fat and Sweetie Come Brush Me. He continued to compose, record, and perform close to the time of his passing in 2014.