John Dee Holeman

Biography

John Dee Holeman (April 4, 1929 – April 30, 2021) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His music includes elements of Texas blues, R&B and African-American string-band music. In his younger days he was also known for his proficiency as a buckdancer.

Early life

Holeman was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina. on April 4, 1929. He was raised on a farm in Orange County. He learned to play the guitar, and listened to traveling bluesmen from other parts of the South, as well as on the radio. Drawing inspiration from Blind Boy Fuller, he began singing and playing guitar at local parties and other community events by the time he was in his mid-teens. He went on to purchase his first electric guitar during his mid-twenties. Holeman relocated to Durham, North Carolina, in 1954, where he played with the pianist Fris Holloway. The duo became adept at the Juba dance, also known as the hambone or buckdance, which he had earlier learned at country dances.

Career

During his working lifetime, Holeman had full-time employment as a construction worker, and music was a part-time pursuit. However, he was able to tour in the United States and overseas in the 1980s, including performances at Carnegie Hall, and abroad on behalf of the United States Information Agency's Arts America program. He played at the 42nd National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, Virginia, in 1980. He performed yearly at the Black Banjo Festival, in Boone, North Carolina. His first album, Bull City After Dark×Bull City After Dark1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Rock Me3:532Dig Myself a Hole4:053Letter Blues4:424Bull City After Dark1:395Three O'Clock3:546Someday Baby2:357Country Girl3:528Black Rat Swing3:319Chapel Hill Boogie3:1910Bald Headed Woman2:4911Hambone2:0812Ford Machine/Mamie3:3413Mojo Hand2:1514Eating With Sticks2:0015You've Got to Lose!3:2216We Will Understand2:31, was nominated for a W. C. Handy award (a predecessor of the Blues Music Awards). He recorded the album Bull Durham Blues×Bull Durham Blues8 June 1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Give Me Back My Wig4:122Step It Up and Go3:113Little Country Gal3:154Sweet Home Chicago3:545Hello Central3:136Early Morning Blues3:067Crow Jane2:278Mistreated Blues4:519Big Boss Man3:4010Stranger Blues3:1611Hambone2:2112God Loves His Children2:4813Chapel Hill Boogie2:56 in 1988, which featured Taj Mahal. It was re-released on the Music Maker label in 1999. Also in 1988, the National Endowment for the Arts presented Holeman with a National Heritage Fellowship.
Holeman was presented with the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1994. A song Holeman wrote, "Chapel Hill Boogie", was featured on the 2007 Grammy Award–nominated album 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads, recorded by Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
In 2007, Music Maker issued the album John Dee Holeman & the Waifs Band×John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1John Henry2:302Country Gal7:203Mojo Hand3:034Give Me Back My Wig5:345I'm a Pilgrim2:266Comin' Home to You7:367Dust My Broom4:268Little Queenie4:219I Miss You Huggin'4:2110Looking Yonder Comin'4:3411Baby Please Don't Go6:02, on which Holeman was backed by the Waifs, an Australian folk-rock group. He played several shows in 2018 with Cajun/Zydeco musician Mel Melton in Durham.

Personal life

Holeman was married to Joan until his death. He died on April 30, 2021, at the age of 92.