Rolan Webster Holden (August 7, 1939 – January 22, 1997) was an American pop and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States. He appeared on ''The

Lloyd Thaxton Lloyd Thaxton (May 31, 1927 – October 5, 2008) was an American writer, television producer, director, and television host widely known for his syndicated pop music television program of the 1960s, ''The Lloyd Thaxton Show'', which began as a l ...

Show'', ''

Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...

'', '' American Bandstand'' (with

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

The Crests The Crests were an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. Their most popular song, " 16 Candles", rose to #2 on the ' ...

Bobby Freeman Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieve ...

and Conway Twitty) and ''

The Dick Clark Show ''The Dick Clark Show'' (also known as ''Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show'') was an American musical variety show broadcast weekly in the United States on the ABC television network 7:30-8 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Saturdays from February 1 ...

''. He performed at the Apollo Theater with artists Jackie Wilson, the Crests and Redd Foxx. Most notable were

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour-stops with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

and Connie Francis. Between 1958 and 1965, Holden toured with

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of The Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

& the Midnighters, James Brown,

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...

, Etta James, Cleve Duncan &

the Penguins ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Rosie and the Originals Rosie and the Originals were an American 1960s musical group best known for their single " Angel Baby." Fronted by lead singer Rosie Hamlin, the group produced two singles (including "Angel Baby") for Highland Records and, like many other mus ...

, the 5 Royales,

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

, Freddy Cannon, the Crests,

Marvin & Johnny Marvin & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo which recorded in the 1950s. The duo comprised Marvin Phillips (born October 23, 1931) and Emory "Johnny" Perry (March 1, 1928 - January 6, 2011), who recorded the early doo-wop single, "Cherry Pie". ...

Don and Dewey Don and Dewey were an American rock, blues and R&B duo, comprising Don "Sugarcane" Harris (Don Francis Bowman Harris; June 18, 1938 – December 1, 1999) and Dewey Terry (Dewey Steven Terry; July 17, 1937 – May 11, 2003). History Both Harr ...

, Big Joe Turner,

Marv Johnson Marvin Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song " Come to Me," which was the first record iss ...

, Mickey & Silvia,

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

& the Moonglows,

Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) 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 fo ...

the Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

Donnie Brooks Donnie Brooks (born John Dee Abohosh; February 6, 1936 – February 23, 2007) was an American pop music singer. Brooks is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Early life Born in Dallas, Texas, Abohosh moved to Ventura, California in his te ...

and

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

. In 1969, Holden, as

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

/entertainer, formed a six piece

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and R&B band: Ron Holden & Good News. Good News performed at various clubs and festivals in the Seattle/ Tacoma area for about eight months. The group members were Charles Jefferson (trumpet), Bob Cozzetti (trumpet), Tim Gemmill (

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

& flute), Steve Swartz (drums), Toby Cyer (

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

) and Bruce Ransom (electric bass & guitar). Influences included James Brown,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...

History

Holden was discovered by Larry Nelson, who had just left work as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

to start his own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. Holden spread the

rumor A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; see spelling differences; derived from Latin:rumorem - noise), is "a tall tale of explanations of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in p ...

that he had been heard singing by Nelson while being held in the King County jail after being arrested for marijuana and alcohol possession, but the story has not been confirmed.

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' In 1959, Holden recorded the single " Love You So", which became a hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 11 on the US '' Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in April 1960. Donna Records, owned by record company producer

Bob Keane Robert Verrill Kuhn (January 5, 1922 – November 28, 2009), professionally known as Bob Keane, and also sometimes known as Bob Keene, was an American musician, producer and the founder and owner of the record label Del-Fi Records. He was the ...

, bought the rights to Holden's recordings shortly after and issued a full LP entitled ''Love You So''; this record was re-issued by

Del-Fi Records Del-Fi Records was an American record label based in Hollywood, California and owned by Bob Keane. The label's first single released was "Caravan" by Henri Rose released in 1958, but the label was most famous for signing Ritchie Valens. Valens' fi ...

in 1994. Holden returned to the charts in 1974 with "Can You Talk?" (U.S. R&B No. 49). He died of a heart attack in

Rosarito Beach Rosarito is a coastal city in Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As of 2010, the city had a population of 65,278. Located south of the US-Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater S ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico in 1997.

References

External links

Ron Holden's biography in Way Back Attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Ron 1939 births 1997 deaths Singers from Washington (state) American male pop singers Challenge Records artists American rhythm and blues singers Musicians from Seattle Del-Fi Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers

History

See also

References

External links