Eddie Holman (born June 3, 1946) is an American singer, musician, minister, and recording artist, best known for his distinctively high singing voice and his 1969 hit song " Hey There Lonely Girl", an adaptation of "Hey There Lonely Boy" by Ruby & the Romantics. His specialties range from R&B and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

. He was inducted into the

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founde ...

in 2016. In 1962, Holman began his recording career when he earned fame with his first record "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You" with Leopard Records. In 1966, he recorded his first hit "This Can't Be True", which was followed by "Am I a Loser from the Start", "I Love You" (1969), "Don't Stop Now" (1970), and "Cathy Called" (1970). In 1963, "Hey There Lonely Boy" by Ruby & the Romantics was released. In 1969, Holman received critical acclaim with his

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

" Hey There Lonely Girl", which peaked at number 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart.

Early life

Holman was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

on June 3, 1946. In 1954, at the age of 8, he and his mother Viola moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after his older sister Margaret moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

at age 21. There, his mother introduced him to the piano, guitar, singing, and the performing arts. He regularly performed on '' The Children's Hour'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and was nicknamed "Little Eddie Holman" at the time.

Career

In 1962, Holman made his first record "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You" on Leopard Records. In the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

scene, he developed his trademark style. In college, he recorded his first hit record "This Can't Be True" (1966), which reached number 17 on the ''Billboard'' chart. In 1969, Holman received critical acclaim with his

" Hey There Lonely Girl" (originally "Hey There Lonely Boy" by Ruby & the Romantics in 1963), which became his signature song and peaked at number 2 on the ''

chart. The track peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1974. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

from the

R.I.A.A. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in March 1970. British journalist Tony Cummings wrote: "Eddie Holman's voice, an astonishing precision instrument which can leap octaves with the speed of mercury and bend notes into shapes unimagined by lesser singers, has assured its possessor a place in soul history." In 1977, Holman had a brief resurgence in popularity with his last two

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

s "This Will Be a Night to Remember" and "You Make My Life Complete". He has credited such artists as

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

as a huge influence, the former of whom Holman has said is his biggest influence. Holman said he and Wilson toured from

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

and down to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Wilson had said he wanted Holman to share his dressing room. Holman explains that Wilson had mentored him and gave him helpful advice. Holman owns his own

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Agape Records and music publishing company Schoochiebug Music Publishing ASCAP.

Personal life

On October 29, 1968, Holman married Sheila Frances Ingrum. Together, they had three children and nine grandchildren. On October 13, 2024, Sheila died at

Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr Hospital, part of Main Line Health, is a 264-bed acute care hospital located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr (, from Welsh language, Welsh for 'big hill') is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Pennsylvania, United Sta ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

at the age of 76.

Discography

* ''I Love You'' (1969) * ''A Night to Remember'' (1977) * ''United'' (1985) * ''Love Story'' (2007)

Compilations

* ''Eddie Holman and The Larks – Sweet Memories'' (1989) * ''Eddie Holman and The Larks – Eddie's My Name'' (1993) * ''This Can't Be True'' (2000) * ''Hey There Lonely Girl'' (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Eddie 1946 births American soul singers Living people Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia Singers from New York City Northern soul musicians 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States American countertenors