John Holt came to the fore in the 60’s riding the Ska wave through the highs of Rock Steady and into Reggae as a solo star and as a member of The Paragons. His cover of Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ reached Number Six in the UK National Charts in Winter 1974/1975 and went on to become one of the biggest selling reggae singles of all time remaining in the charts for a total of fourteen weeks.
In 1980 Blondie’s cover of ‘The Tide Is High’ took the Number One slot in both the UK National Charts and the USA Billboard Hot 100 and, twenty two years later while Horace Andy sung ‘Quite Place’ over for Striker Lee before singing it again with Massive Attack on their ‘Mezzanine’ album which reached Number One in the UK Album Charts in 1998.
His many hits for Bunny Lee and Channel One made John Holt perhaps the most in-demand reggae artist after Bob Marley Recorded for Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes in 1982 the ‘Police In Helicopter’ album embrace the Roots Radics Volcano sound that was now ruling Jamaica and put his unmistakable voice right back into the heart of the dancehalls.
Awarded the Order Of Distinction by the Jamaican Government in 2004 John Holt sadly passed away in 2014 – his music will live forever.
