In tribute to singer John Holt who died on October 20 in London, England, the Jamaica Observer presents ‘Holt a Day’, a daily feature leading up to his funeral, which is slated for November 15.

AT the dawn of the 1970s, soul singer Marvin Gaye said he had grown tired of singing over-produced ballads. The social changes taking place in America inspired his 1971 masterpiece, What’s Going On.

John Holt was still a lovers rock champion as the 1980s beckoned. But he was also singing more roots-reggae songs, a new direction that saw him working with the hottest producer and band in Jamaica at the time.

Like Gaye with What’s Going On, Holt’s image transformed when he recorded songs like Police in Helicopter with Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes and the Roots Radics Band.

The conservative look he had on albums like A Love I Can Feel and 1000 Volts of Holt gave way to budding locks and beard. What’s Going On introduced Gaye to the rebellious hippie and Black Power crowd; the Police in Helicopter album saw Holt ‘rubbing’ shoulders with young turks like Barrington Levy, Tenor Saw and Cocoa Tea.

Because Lawes’ Volcano label had a strong base in the United Kingdom through a distribution deal with London’s Greensleeves Records, Holt also earned a new following among militant black youth in that country, thanks to Police in Helicopter, a ganja anthem.

Like Gaye, Holt was the consummate balladeer. For the remainder of their careers, it was their softer songs that kept them in demand.

— Howard Campbell