Eddie Holloway Page

Eddie Holloway

Eddie Holloway

Journeyman Deep Soul singer out of Florida who sang with late 60s groups like The Soul Pleasers and The Third Guitar. The Miami Funk 45 "Baby Don't Cry" is a collector's item. Other stray 45s by Holloway with the groups or solo from the late 60s up to the 80s ("I Had A Good Time", "I'm Standing By", "Somebody's Smooching My Love", "Slippin' On My Love", "I Am The One", "I Found A Love") are also hard to come by. He cut his first LP "I Had A Good Time" in 1991 and enjoyed a career in the "chittlin circuit" ever since.

Album Discography

"I Had A Good Time" (Hot Blues 1991)

1. I Had a Good Time
2. I'm the One
3. Poor Boy
4. Tribute to the Kings
5. Nine Pound Steel
6. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
7. I Want to Be Your Lover
8. Baby Don't Cry
9. My Mind Is Too Strong

**** Authentic soul music from an underappreciated singer. He has that pinched back-of-the-throat voice that wrings emotion out of every syllable. The title track is an instant classic- a rolling soul number with a tasteful guitar, organ backdrop. If you like Roy C (like you should) you'll flip for this one. "I'm The One" is another slow swaying gem with an aching vocal. Holloway continues to move you with "Nine Pound Steel", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" and his seven minute "Tribute To The Kings", which waxes nostalgic for late greats like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding & O.V. Wright. Things perk up with the bouncy pop "Poor Boy"- very catchy indeed. But it's on the slowies where Eddie is truly in his habitat. Bottom line- down home soul music the way they used to do it.

"Hollerin' & Poppin" (Hot Blues 1998)

1. Pop That Koochie
2. Slippin' On My Love
3. Must I Kill Her
4. Somebody Took My Woman
5. Don't Cry
6. Love Sick Blues
7. Raise A Ruckus
8. Hey Girl
9. When We're Together
10. The World's Got The Blues
11. Mr. Telephone Man

**1/2 Eddie goes in a more contemporary direction with this mostly lukewarm effort. Opening with a percolating headbobber "Pop That Koochie" that suffers from banal lyrics. Track two, "Slippin' On My Love", is straight retro-disco but the production is too flaccid to ignite dancing. Same story for "Raise A Ruckus". Meanwhile, "Must I Kill Her?" is a Roy C-like story song about infidelity and "Love Sick Blues" is a welcome change of pace but overall there's very little "Hollerin" and most of the kernels fail to pop.

"Shake N' Bump" (Hot JWP 2001)

1. Shake N Bump
2.Don't Make Me Cross Over
3.I Came A Long Way
4.My Special Prayer
5.Chokin Kind
6.When We're Together
7.If Loving You is Wrong
8.I Found A Love
9.I Had A Good Time
10.My Mind is Too Strong
11.Poor Boy
12.Shake N Bump (Instrumental)

*** The title cut is an infectious percolating dancer that should've been a bigger hit. It did receive some regional attention, however. Nearly as irresistible is "I Came A Long Way" with it's bounding rhythm and chanka-lankin guitar. A balmy guitar lead also introduces the deep soul "Don't Make Me Cross Over" with Eddie beseeching his lover not to push him into infidelity. Love his gruff, throaty warbling on this one. He transforms "Choking Kind" into a midtempo ditty but does faithful renditions of "I Found A Love" and "If Loving You Is Wrong". The album earns a demerit for adding three tracks from "I Had A Good Time" despite the fact the tracks are fantastic ("Poor Boy", "My Mind Is Too Strong" & "I Had A Good Time").

"Soul N' The Blues: The Greatest Hits" (Empire Musicwerks 2005)

1. I Had a Good Time
2. Poor Boy
3. Nine Pound Steel
4. My Mind Is Too Strong
5. When Something Is Wrong with My Baby
6. Pop That Koochie
7. Slippin' on My Love
8. Whole World's Got the Blues, The
9. Mr. Telephone Man
10. Shake N' Bump
11. Don't Cry
12. Hey Girl
13. Don't Make Me Cross Over
14. Chokin' Kind
15. If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)
16. I Found a Love

**** Eddie's one of those cult artists that you'll hear and say to yourself: "why the heck haven't I heard of this guy?!?". With a rich voice on par with Joe Simon and Roy C (and add latter day James Carr), Holloway had released three soul & blues albums that hit on the street but didn't get enough press. This generous compilation could rectify that. I say "generous" because even though a total of 31 tracks appeared on the discs "I Had A Good Time", "Hollerin' N' Poppin" & "Shake N' Bump", there were only 26 actual songsreleased as several made more than one appearance. "The Greatest Hits" picks the sweet 16 from this bunch making it the definitive Holloway portrait thus far. A mix of down home Memphis soul wailers and percolating dancers. While not all cuts are Grade A material ("Slippin' On My Love" is generic programmed filler) his best known singles, "I Had A Good Time", "Pop That Koochie" and "Shake N' Bump" are all here as are terrific covers of "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "Chokin' Kind", "Nine Pound Steel", "I Found A Love" & "If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Want To Be Right)". Being that Holloway's discs are either out of print or difficult to find this collection and it's bargain price is essential. Roy C fans should definitely grab this now.