Album Notes

John Dee Holeman

Storyteller, dancer, blues artist, and National Heritage Award recipient John Dee Holeman was born in rural Orange County, North Carolina in 1929. Over the years his musical and dancing skills were sharpened in local competitions at house parties, cornshuckings, woodcuttings, and other rural recreations. During the week he worked as a farmer and as a bulldozer and dragline operator, but on the weekends he entertained family and neighbors, never moving outside the core African American blues community. Moving to Durham, or the Bull City as it's locally known, he continued making music and dancing, usually in the company of his partner, pianist and dancer Quentin "Fris" Holloway. He also began working jukes in Durham and nearby Chapel Hill, where he played in a joint called the Tim Top, commemorated in his composition Chapel Hill Boogie.
As with most Piedmont musicians, Holeman's repertoire was initially geared to acoustic guitar and the house party tradition. He met and played with musicians who had leaned directly from Blind Boy Fuller, and Fuller's style is clearly evident in his technique. After moving to Durham, however, Holeman switched to electric, the better to be heard in the jukes. Today he is equally adept on acoustic or electric and his repertoire ranges from the older Piedmont country blues to the electric sounds of Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, and B.B. King. His musical choices literally span the blues spectrum, reflecting his ability to change with his African American audience's changing tastes and his artistic interest in songs for their own sake or for his own pleasure. As he told his friend and producer Joe Wilson, "A good song can come from anywhere. You got one for me?"
A deep blues vocalist with a remarkably expressive voice, Holeman has spent his life playing for his own enjoyment, for prestige, and only recently to augment his income. His guitar work is spontaneous; freely improvised for self-expression and fun. An across-the-board performer, his vocal and instrumental gifts are matched by his outstanding dance repertoire. He refers to his dance style as tap, but it encompasses buck dancing--an older solo display from often accompanied by hand clapping or patting Juba, a rhythm tradition with roots traceable to Africa. As might be expected from such an artistic personality, Holeman is also a master of the spoken word.

Excerpt taken from Barry Lee Pearson's article "John Dee Holeman: Bull City Blues" [North Carolina Blues, 1993]

John Dee Holeman has performed at the National Folk Festival and at Carnegie Hall and has made two tours overseas. In 1988, he as awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and he received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1994.

John Dee Holeman is apart of Music Maker Relief Foundation:
Music Maker Relief Foundation's Mission

Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern musical traditions gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs. Today, many such musicians are living in extreme poverty and need food, shelter, medical care, and other assistance. Music Maker's aid and service programs improve the quality of recipients' lives. Our work affirms to these artists that we value the gifts of music and inspiration they have delivered to the world. Our mission is to give back to the roots of American music. Our criterion for recipients is they be rooted in a Southern musical tradition, be 55 years or older and have an annual income less than $18,000. Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a tax exempt, public charity under IRS code 501(c)3.

For more information visit our website at www.musicmaker.org or call 919-643-2456.