The Hollies are an English rock group known for their pioneering and distinctive three part vocal harmony style. The Hollies became one of the leading British groups of the 1960’s and into the mid 1970’s. They enjoyed considerable popularity in many countries (at least 60 singles or EPs and 26 albums charting somewhere in the world spanning over five decades), although they did not achieve major US chart success until 1966 with “Bus Stop”. They are one of the few British pop groups of the early 1960’s that have never officially broken up and continue to record and perform. In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. (More from Wikipedia)
More than a few British rock groups adopted band names in tribute to Buddy Holly. The Beatles in part took their insect-oriented name from that of his band the Crickets. One Manchester band of the British Invasion period simply called themselves the Hollies. Yet another British Invasion band, the Searchers took their name from the John Wayne movie of that name, The Searchers, where the Duke often said, “That’ll be the day”; the catch phrase had been adopted by Buddy Holly as the name of one of his first hits, “That’ll Be the Day”.
(June 2013/1)
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The Rolling Stones were from London, as were the Kinks, the Who and the Yardbirds. The Animals came from Newcastle, an industrial backwater like Liverpool, though on the opposite coast. The Hollies were formed in Manchester, though the bandmembers came from East Lancashire. The Moody Blues were from the Birmingham area; Birmingham, Alabama (one of the first major industrialized cities in the American South) is named for the British city.
(July 2013)
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The Goldie and the Gingerbreads 1964 recording of “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” made it to #25 in the UK. Here in this country, Herman’s Hermits released “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” two weeks earlier; the heavy promotion of that song cut them out of the U. S. charts. After meeting Eric Burdon and the Animals, Goldie and the Gingerbreads was signed for a European tour, where they performed with the Who’s Who of the British Invasion: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Yardbirds, the Hollies, the Kinks, and others.
(October 2013)
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For their second single, they moved to another EMI label, Parlophone Records (the Beatles’ record company in Britain) and adopted a more pop-oriented sound reminiscent of another Parlophone band, the Hollies, releasing “I, I, I Want Your Lovin’” b/w “She Only Wants a Friend”. For the final single by the Sons of Fred for Parlophone in 1966, they went back to R&B for “Baby What You Want Me To Do” b/w “You Told Me”.
While “I, I, I Want Your Lovin’” and “She Only Wants a Friend” feature the harmony vocals and intricate guitar that are hallmarks of the Hollies’ sound, the band’s R&B roots are still evident on both songs. The liner notes on the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 CD (probably by Greg Shaw) says that “their three releases are consistently intense, brilliant R&B ravers”. The Sons of Fred broke up after Mick Hutchinson and Pete Sears left the band.
(March 2014/2)
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