Amy Celeste Boersma, known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop rock singer, songwriter, and composer. Holland's music career spans more than 30 years. She received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her eponymous debut album containing the single " How Do I Survive".

Early life

Amy Celeste Boersma was born in

Palisades, New York Palisades, formerly known as Sneden's Landing (pronounced SNEE-dens), is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York. It is located north of Rockleigh and Alpine, New Jersey; east of Tappan; south of Sparkill; and west of t ...

, into a musical family. Her mother was

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer Esmereldy and her father was

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer Harry Boersma. Holland is of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

descent and changed her name from Boersma to Holland (after her ancestors' origin country), because she thought it would make a better stage name. As a teenager, Holland moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California, in hope of making a career as a singer-songwriter. At the age of 15 she auditioned for

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

' Brother Records, but after the company folded, she signed with Capitol Records instead.

Musical career

Holland's eponymous debut studio album, produced by the Doobie Brothers' former lead singer Michael McDonald, was released in 1980 and featured the hit " How Do I Survive", which peaked at No. 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Her second studio album titled '' On Your Every Word'' followed in 1983, featuring the single "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" a duet with Chris Christian, which peaked at No. 88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it also peaked at No. 21 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. That same year she contributed two songs to the soundtrack to the film '' Scarface''. One of the songs Holland recorded for ''Scarface'', " She's on Fire", was also featured in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto III''. Holland went on to sing backing vocals on McDonald's albums, in addition to singing backing vocals on albums by other artists and bands such as First Call. In 2008, Holland released her third studio album, '' The Journey to Miracle River'', on Chonin Records. Produced by her long-time friend Bernie Chiaravalle (singer/guitarist for McDonald since 1988), the album was recorded in Nashville over an 8-year period. Holland co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs with Chiaravalle along with other writers John Goodwin, Jon Vezner, and McDonald. Other songs were also penned by Robben Ford and Chazz Frichtel. This album marked Holland's return to the music industry after several years of hiatus to raise a family and deal with health issues. In 2016, she released her fourth studio album, '' Light On My Path''. The album features a duet, "Prove That by Me" with Michael McDonald, in addition to background vocals by

David Pack David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band Ambrosia in the 1970s. Career As performer Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia. His collected works as a ...

(Ambrosia),

Joseph Williams (musician) Joseph Stanley Williams (born September 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and film score composer, best known for his work in the rock band Toto, which he fronted as lead vocalist from 1986 to 1988, 2010 to 2019 and again since 2020. ...

(Toto), and

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

Personal life

Holland has been married to Michael McDonald since 1983. The couple live in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

, and they have two children, Dylan and Scarlett. In 1995, Holland was diagnosed with cancer, and after many years of therapy, she is now in good health.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Amy Holland'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, 1980) U.S. #146 *'' On Your Every Word'' (Capitol, 1983) (re-released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in 2005) *'' The Journey to Miracle River'' (Chonin, 2008) *'' Light On My Path'' (Choni, 2016)

Singles

*" How Do I Survive?" US #22, US AC #34 *"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing/You're All I Need to Get By" (duet with Chris Christian) US #88, US AC #21 *"Anytime You Want Me" US #110 *" Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" *"(I Hang) On Your Every Word" *"I'll Never Give Up" *" She's on Fire" *" Turn Out the Night" *"Learn to Love Again" (duet with Chris Farren) *"Shootin' For the Moon"

Filmography

Film soundtracks

*'' Scarface'' (1983) — "Turn Out the Night" (miscredited as "Turn Out the Light") and "She's on Fire" *'' Night of the Comet'' (1984) — "Learn to Love Again" (duet with Chris Farren) *'' Love Lives On'' (1985) — "Lullaby" (duet with David Palmer) *'' Teen Wolf'' (1985) — "Shooting for the Moon" *''

St. Elmo's Fire St. Elmo's fire — also called Witchfire or Witch's Fire — is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal hornHeidorn, K., Weather Element ...

'' (1985) — "For Just a Moment (Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire)" (duet with

Donny Gerrard Donald Bradford Gerrard (March 19, 1946 – February 3, 2022), known professionally as Donny Gerrard was a Canadian singer. He was a member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, and in later years performed and recorded as a baritone backup si ...

) *'' Square Dance'' (1987) — "Home" *''The Lion of Africa'' (1987) — "Nothin' We Can Do" (duet with Chris Farren) *'' K-9'' (1989) — "

Iko Iko "Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a sin ...

Television

*''Young Oh! Oh!'' (1980) — "How Do I Survive" *'' Solid Gold'' (1980) — "How Do I Survive" *''Auf Los Geht's Los'' (1980) — "Strengthen My Love", "How Do I Survive", "Stars" *''Toppop'' (1980) — "How Do I Survive", "Stars" *'' The Kenny Everett Video Show'' (1980) — "Strengthen My Love", "How Do I Survive", "Show Me the Way Home" *''

Music Fair is a Japanese music show. It is broadcast by Fuji Television. The shows started in 1964 and it is the longest-running Japanese music show and is sponsored by Shionogi. Current airtime 18:00 -18:30 (JST) every Saturday. Hosts *Fubuki Koshiji ( ...

'' (1980) — "How Do I Survive" *'' American Bandstand'' (1983) — "(I Hang) On Your Every Word", " Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" *'' One Life to Live'' (1994) — "All I Know" (duet with Michael McDonald)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Amy 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singers 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American singers American pop musicians American people of Dutch descent Capitol Records artists Living people Scarface (1983 film) Songwriters from New York (state) People from Palisades, New York 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Year of birth missing (living people)