Photograph by Tim Duffy; from the John Dee Holeman
Online Press
Kit (Music Maker Relief Foundation)
Full Name: John Dee Holeman
Born: 1929, Orange County, North Carolina
Died: n/a
Instrument(s): Guitar
Biographical sketch
John Dee Holeman was born in Orange County, North
Carolina in 1929, and has been playing the blues since he
was around 14 years old. He credits Blind Boy Fuller as the
man who taught him to play, however he never met Fuller
himself. He learned by listening to Fuller's records and by
playing with musicians who had learned directly from Fuller.
Holeman is a magnificent guitarist, and uses both the
Piedmont and Texas guitar styles in his playing.
Holeman was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in
1988 and a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1994. He is recently
retired from being a heavy machine operator, and currently
still tours at home and abroad. He has toured in the
U.S., Europe, and Asia. Holeman used to accompany his
performances by buckdancing, but after two strokes no longer
attempts dancing, and some days has a difficult time
walking.
Oddly enough, Holeman says he is not a professional
musician. "Nope--don't get paid like one either," he once
said in an interview. "Got talked into playing a little
guitar at the Eno (Eno River Festival) a few
years back and have been doing it ever since."
Books
Bastin, Bruce. Crying for the Carolines. London: Studio
Vista, 1971, p. 46.
Duffy, Timothy, ed. Music Makers: Portraits and Songs
from the Roots of America. Athens, GA: Hill Street
Press, 2002.
Articles
Britt, Bygrant. "John Dee
Holeman: Piedmont Blues Master." Independent Weekly.
29 June 2005 (online). Accessed 29 Sept 2005. <http://indyweek.com/durham/2005-06-29/musicspot.html>
Chambers, Stanley B. "Blues to
wail at Eno festival." The (Raleigh, NC) News &
Observer. 2 July 2005: B1.
Evans, Ben. "Tunes and tobacco
intertwine as local musician shares his history." The
(Durham, NC) Herald-Sun. 26 Aug. 2004: B1.
Holmes, William L. "Durham
musicians still have blues." The (Fort Wayne, IN) Journal
Gazette. 7 Jul. 2002: 3E.
O'Rourke, Lawrence M. "Heritage
and harmony." The (Raleigh, NC) News & Observer. 1 Jul. 2003: E1.
Sharpe,
Scott. "Bluesman's
fingers fumble at your soul." The (Raleigh, NC)
News & Observer. 28
Mar. 2004: D8.
Wise, Jim. "Durham bluesman,
folklorist resume music 'conversation'." The (Durham, NC)
Herald-Sun. 13 Aug. 2004: D13.
Recordings on CD
Holeman, John Dee. Bull Durham Blues. Music Maker
91004, 1999.
Holeman, John Dee, and Fris Holloway. Country Girl.
Mapleshade 01232, 1988.
Holeman, John Dee . Piedmont
blues de Caroline du Nord. Documentary Arts (France),
1992.
TV
Piedmont Blues: North Carolina Style. North
Carolina Now. UNC-TV.
Folkways: Piedmont Blues. Hosted by David Holt.
UNC-TV.
MP3s
Courtesy of Music Maker Foundation <http://shop.store.yahoo.com/musicmakerstore/
johndeeholeman.html>
Little Country Girl [ ]
Sweet Home Chicago [ ]
Big Boss Man [ ]
Web sites
John Dee Holeman: online press kit, Music Maker
Relief Foundation. Accessed 26 Sept. 2005 <http://www.musicmaker.org/onlinepresskit/
johndeeholemanpresskit.html>
"John Dee Holeman." Story and art by Gary
Dumm. Accessed 29
Sept, 2005. <http://www.musicmaker.org/Pekar_JonD.pdf>
Music Maker Relief Foundation. Accessed 26 Sept.
2005 <http://www.musicmaker.org/artistroster/
johndee%20holeman.htm>
Piedmont Blues- John Dee Holeman. UNC-TV Online. Accessed
20 Oct. 2005 <http://www.unctv.org/piedmontblues/jdholeman.html> |
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