John Holt

John Holt on vinyl: the gentle voice of reggae

In short: John Holt (1947–2014) from Jamaica sang with a soft, warm voice that brought reggae and the love song together. In the sixties he was the singer of the Paragons – he is regarded as the writer of “The Tide Is High” – then he built a solo career. In Britain he became known with “1000 Volts Of Holt”, reggae versions of big pop songs. The Vinyl Room currently has 10 John Holt records.

What makes John Holt special?

He was both songwriter and performer: the Paragons recorded “The Tide Is High” in 1967, years before Blondie turned it into a worldwide hit. As a solo singer he recorded for Jamaica’s great producers – Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, Joe Gibbs, Bunny Lee.

We have “One Thousand Volts Of Holt”, “Holt”, “The Further You Look”, “Since I Fell For You”, “Strange Things” and “Roots Of Holt”, plus “Holt Goes Disco” and records with Jackie Mittoo and the Studio One circle.

From our stock

First pressings

Records by John Holt

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FAQ

Did John Holt write “The Tide Is High”? He is regarded as the writer of the song the Paragons recorded in 1967; Blondie made it a worldwide hit in 1980.

What is “1000 Volts Of Holt”? A 1973 Trojan album of reggae versions of well-known pop songs.

Which producers did he record for? Among others Coxsone Dodd (Studio One), Joe Gibbs and Bunny Lee.

Which records do you have? Mostly seventies albums – 10 records in all.