Delores Holmes (July 18, 1946 – April 16, 2010) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer. She was best known for her years as backup singer for the

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Band during 1969 to 1972, the last grouping before the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

. The Bruce Springsteen Band included

David Sancious David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on ''Human Touch'' (1992), '' Trac ...

Vini Lopez Vincent Lopez (born January 22, 1949), nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974 Lopez backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums ...

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

and

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

, among others.

Biography

From

Matawan, New Jersey Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic community located near the Raritan Bay in the much larger Raritan Valley region, the borough is a commuter town of New York City within the New York Metropol ...

, Holmes grew up singing in a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

family. Later the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

singer performed with choirs and girl groups. In the 1960s and the 1970s, she performed with a number of rock bands, including Hot Ice, with fellow Springsteen back-up singer Barbara Dinkins. She sang with a number of Shore bands and was also a member of

Gabrielle Roth Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; t ...

's group, The Mirrors, for several years. Holmes also recorded or performed backgrounds for many artists and producers, including

Danny Federici Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player and a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. In 2014, Federici was posthumously induct ...

Bill Chinnock William Chinnock (November 12, 1947 – March 7, 2007), also referred to as Bill Chinnock or Billy Chinnock, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Chinnock grew up in the nearby Essex County communities of ...

Neal Coty Neal Lee Angleberger (born May 13, 1964), known professionally as Neal Coty, is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released two albums for Mercury Records Nashville, and has written several singles for other artists. Biograp ...

, Steve Delopoulos of

Burlap to Cashmere Burlap to Cashmere is a NYC band formed in the 1990s by original Band members Steven Delopoulos, John Philippidis, Theodore Pagano, Michael Ernest, and Roby Guarnera. Their style is often referred to as world music, ethnic folk, or multi genre. Ap ...

and Fernando Saunders of

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

's Band. Holmes auditioned for the Bruce Springsteen Band through a newspaper advertisement asking for singers with a "gospel sound". She spent several years performing and touring the Eastern Seaboard with the band, including a concert at the University of Virginia, and the Jersey Shore's own Brookdale College, The Student Prince, Sunshine Inn, among others. In 2001, she appeared on the internationally televised ''Tribute to Heroes'' 9/11 telethon as a backup singer for Springsteen with

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...

,Clarence Clemons. ''Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales''. Grand Central Publishing, 2009, p. 100.

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into ...

Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly The Sessions Band. Biography Tyrell wa ...

and Lisa Lowell. She would later perform at New York's Beacon Theatre with

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " San Francisco Bay Blues", " Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited ...

, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Bar Scott in a concert to honor rescue workers. Holmes formed a

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

trio with her daughter, Layonne Holmes, and Debbie Vaughn called Rain, while continuing to perform and record with local bands. She was also a member of Holiday Express, a charity group of local New Jersey shore musicians and volunteers.

References

* Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). ''The words and music of Bruce Springsteen'' Greenwood Publishing Group. , . * Cross, C. (1989). ''Backstreets: Springsteen, the man and his music'' Harmony Books. , . * Kirkpatrick, R. (2009). ''Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen'' Macmillan. , . * Mårtensson, A. and Johansson, J. (2008). ''Local Heroes: The Asbury Park Music Scene'' Rutgers University Press. . * Clarence Clemons, Don Reo, Bruce Springsteen (2009). ''Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales'' Grand Central Publishing. , .

Biography

References

External links