Amy Holland

Last updated

Amy Holland
Burleigh Drummond, Michael McDonald, Amy Holland, Joe Puerta and Mary Harris onstage at the Canyon Club Image.jpeg
Holland with Ambrosia and Michael McDonald in 2016
Background information
Birth nameAmy Celeste Boersma
Born (1953-08-15) August 15, 1953 (age 70)
Palisades, New York, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1980–present
Labels
Website amyhollandmusic.com

Amy Celeste Boersma (born August 15, 1953), known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop and rock singer. Her career spans more than 40 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her self-titled debut album containing the single "How Do I Survive".

Contents

Early life

Amy Celeste Boersma was born in Palisades, New York, into a musical family. Her mother was country singer Esmereldy [1] and her father was opera singer Harry Boersma. [2] Holland is of Dutch descent and changed her name from Boersma to Holland (after her ancestors' origin country), because she thought it would make a better stage name.

As a teenager, Holland moved to Los Angeles in hope of making a career as a singer-songwriter. [3] At the age of 15 she auditioned for the Beach Boys' Brother Records, but after the company folded, she signed with Capitol Records instead. [4]

Career

Holland's eponymous debut studio album, produced by the Doobie Brothers' former lead singer Michael McDonald, was released in 1980 and featured the hit "How Do I Survive", which peaked at No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. [5] Her second studio album titled On Your Every Word followed in 1983, featuring the single "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" a duet with Chris Christian, which peaked at No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it also peaked at No. 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That same year, she contributed two songs to the soundtrack to the film Scarface . One of the songs Holland recorded for Scarface, "She's on Fire", was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto III . Holland went on to sing backing vocals on McDonald's albums, in addition to singing backing vocals on albums by other artists and bands such as First Call. [6]

In 2008, Holland released her third studio album, The Journey to Miracle River , on Chonin Records. [4] Produced by her long-time friend Bernie Chiaravalle (singer/guitarist for McDonald since 1988), the album was recorded in Nashville over an eight-year period. Holland co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs with Chiaravalle along with other writers John Goodwin, Jon Vezner, and McDonald. Other songs were also penned by Robben Ford and Chazz Frichtel. This album marked Holland's return to the music industry after several years of hiatus to raise a family and deal with health issues. [4]

In 2016, she released her fourth studio album, Light on My Path . [7] The album features a duet, "Prove That by Me" with Michael McDonald, in addition to background vocals by David Pack (Ambrosia), Joseph Williams (Toto), and David Crosby.

Personal life

Holland has been married to musician Michael McDonald since 1983. [8] The couple lives in Santa Barbara, California, and they have two children. [9]

In 1995, Holland was diagnosed with cancer, and after many years of therapy, she is now in good health. [9]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Filmography

Film soundtracks

Television

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Grant</span> American singer-songwriter, musician (born 1960)

Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Murray</span> Canadian singer (born 1945)

Morna Anne Murray is a Canadian singer of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionne Warwick</span> American singer (born 1940)

Marie Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress, and television host. She is one of the most successful female artists in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaka Khan</span> American singer (born 1953)

Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman". Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrissie Hynde</span> American musician (born 1951)

Christine Ellen Hynde is an American-British musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band The Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alongside drummer Martin Chambers. She is the only continuous member of the band, appearing on every studio album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Carnes</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1945)

Kim Carnes is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles. She began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a session background singer with the famed Water Sisters. After she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, she released her debut album Rest on Me in 1971. Carnes' self-titled second album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me", which reached No. 35 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1975. In the following year, Carnes released Sailin', which featured "Love Comes from Unexpected Places". The song won the American Song Festival and the award for Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolette Larson</span> American singer (1952–1997)

Nicolette Larson was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and No. 8 on the pop singles chart. It was followed by four more adult contemporary hits, two of which were also minor pop hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Spector</span> American singer (1943–2022)

Veronica Yvette "Ronnie" Greenfield was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing</span> 1968 single by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a 1968 single released by American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, on the Tamla label in 1968. The B-side of the single is "Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl" from the duo's United LP. The first release off the duo's second album: You're All I Need, the song—written and produced by regular Gaye/Terrell collaborators Ashford & Simpson—became a hit within weeks of release eventually peaking at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart, the first of the duo's two number-one R&B hits. In the UK "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" reached number 34.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charly McClain</span> American singer-songwriter

Charlotte Denise "Charly" McClain is an American country music singer, best known for a string of hits during the 1980s. McClain's biggest hits include "Who's Cheatin' Who", "Sleepin' with the Radio On", and "Radio Heart".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McDonald (musician)</span> American musician, singer, and keyboardist

Michael H. McDonald is an American singer, keyboardist and songwriter known for his distinctive, soulful voice and as a member of Steely Dan (1973–1974), and the Doobie Brothers. McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It to the Streets." McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

Bernie Chiaravalle is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is known for backing up Michael McDonald.

<i>She Works Hard for the Money</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Donna Summer

She Works Hard for the Money is the eleventh studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released on June 13, 1983, by Mercury Records. It was her most successful studio album of the decade, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and its title track became one of the biggest hits of her career and her biggest hit of the decade, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We've Got Tonite</span> 1978 single by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock music artist Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.

<i>Ladies Choice</i> (George Jones album) 1984 studio album by George Jones

Ladies' Choice is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1984 on the Epic Records label. It was composed largely of duets with female artists.

<i>All the Great Hits</i> (Diana Ross album) 1981 greatest hits album by Diana Ross

All The Great Hits is a compilation album by American singer Diana Ross, released in October 1981 by Motown Records. It was the second Motown compilation set to capitalize on the success of 1980's diana produced by Chic. Her duet "Endless Love" with Lionel Richie was from the film of the same name, Endless Love and, just like 1980's "It's My Turn", had already been released as a single and on a soundtrack album.

<i>On Your Every Word</i> 1983 studio album by Amy Holland

On Your Every Word is the second studio album released by Amy Holland in 1983. This was her last studio album, before she spent the rest of the 1980s recording songs for film soundtracks such as Scarface, Teen Wolf, Night of the Comet, St. Elmo's Fire, K-9, and much more. In one of the songs on the album, she sings a duet with David Pack on the song "I Still Run to You". There is a cover version of the Four Tops' song "Shake Me, Wake Me " sung by Holland. Steve Lukather collaborates on the album and does a guitar solo during an instrumental break on the last song of the album, Rollin' By. In addition to the album's release, 1983 was the year when Holland and Michael McDonald got married. Holland did not release another studio album until 2008, when she released The Journey to Miracle River.

<i>Amy Holland</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Amy Holland

Amy Holland is singer Amy Holland's self-titled debut album. The album was released on LP record in 1980, and was produced by Amy's future husband Michael McDonald. One of the songs on the album "How Do I Survive" became a big hit and made it to the Top 30 chart. Amy Holland would often perform "How Do I Survive" live on music TV shows such as Music Fair and Young Oh! Oh!. Those live performances of the song can be found on YouTube. Holland mostly recorded some song covers for this album, with one of them being Annette Hanshaw's 1928 jazz-standard Forgetting You. The success of the song How Do I Survive helped Amy earn a Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, but she did not win the award. Some of the songs on the album were written by Michael McDonald, such as "Here In The Light" and "Show Me the Way Home". "How Do I Survive" was a hit peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later Amy would release another studio album called On Your Every Word.

<i>The Journey to Miracle River</i> 2008 studio album by Amy Holland

The Journey to Miracle River is the third studio album by singer Amy Holland, who was now in her 50s the time this album was released. This is her first studio album in 25 years, but she did record songs in between the years 1983-2008, such as songs for film soundtracks and other collaborations. This album was released under the Chonin Records label, with Bernie Chiaravalle being the producer for the album. Holland and Chiaravalle have written some songs for the album, but the first track on the album is a cover of a Robben Ford song called "Don't Lose Your Faith in Me". This also marked Holland's return to the music industry after a battle with breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with since 1995. Holland wrote most of the songs for this album.

<i>Light on My Path</i> 2016 studio album by Amy Holland

Light on My Path is Amy Holland's fourth studio album, released in 2016. It features chorus vocals by her husband Michael McDonald, and her son Dylan McDonald is also doing chorus here. She also sings a duet with her husband, "Prove That by Me". The album was produced by Fred Mollin.

References

  1. "Esmereldy: Slap Her Down Again Paw". Lonesome Lefty's Scratchy Attic. February 8, 2009.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (7th ed.). Watson-Guptill. ISBN   978-0823076901.
  3. "Biography". Amy Holland. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Amy Holland: The Journey to Miracle River". Behind The Beat. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  5. Demalon, Tom. "Amy Holland Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. "Local Girl Makes Good in California" (PDF). The Palisades 10964 Newsletter (63). September 1983.
  7. Woodhouse, John (May 19, 2016). "A Journey Fulfilled". The Maui News . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 R & B and Hip-hop Hits. Billboard. p. 384. ISBN   978-0-8230-8283-4. Married singer Amy Holland in 1983
  9. 1 2 McDonald, Amy, "You're Going to Be Okay", Guideposts, archived from the original on October 11, 2016, retrieved August 18, 2016