Amy Holland
Encyclopedia
Amy Holland is a pop rock
singer. She is of Dutch descent and changed her name from Boersma to Holland (after her ancestors's origin country), because she thought it would make a better stage name
. Her mother was country
star
Esmereldy and her father was opera
singer Harry Boersma. Holland's self-titled album
, produced
by Michael McDonald
(who became her husband three years later) of the Doobie Brothers, was released in 1980 and featured the hit "How Do I Survive", which peaked at #22 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
. She was nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best New Artist in 1981. A second album called On Your Every Word followed in 1983, featuring the single "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"/"You're All I Need to Get By" with Chris Christian
, which peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year she landed two songs on the soundtrack
to the film Scarface
. One of the songs Holland recorded for Scarface, "She's on Fire", was also used in Grand Theft Auto 3. She later married Michael McDonald and sang backup vocals
on his records, in addition to singing backup on records by bands such as First Call.
Holland and McDonald had two children named Dylan (born in 1987) and Scarlett (born in 1991) and they moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2008, Holland released The Journey to Miracle River on Chonin Records. Produced by long-time friend Bernie Chiaravalle (singer/guitarist for Michael McDonald since 1988) the album was recorded in Nashville over an 8 year period. Holland co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs with Chiaravalle along with other writers John Goodwin, Jon Vezner, and Michael McDonald. Other songs were also penned by Robben Ford and Chazz Frichtel. Musicians include Bernie Chiaravalle (guitar, bass, keys, drums and vocals), Shannon Forrest (drums), Vince Gill
(vocals), Michael McDonald (keys, vocals), John Deaderick (keys), Tim Akers (keys), Stuart Duncan (violin), Tim Lorsch (violin), Dylan McDonald (vocals) and Dylan Morrison (bass). There have been requests for a fourth album, and Holland said on her Facebook
that she will make a new album.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
singer. She is of Dutch descent and changed her name from Boersma to Holland (after her ancestors's origin country), because she thought it would make a better stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
. Her mother was country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
star
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
Esmereldy and her father was opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer Harry Boersma. Holland's self-titled album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
(who became her husband three years later) of the Doobie Brothers, was released in 1980 and featured the hit "How Do I Survive", which peaked at #22 on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. She was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best New Artist in 1981. A second album called On Your Every Word followed in 1983, featuring the single "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"/"You're All I Need to Get By" with Chris Christian
Chris Christian
Chris Christian is a songwriter, record producer, and a record label executive. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Olivia Newton-John, Natalie Cole, Sheena Easton, The Pointer Sisters, Al Jarreau, The Carpenters, Amy Grant, Patti Austin, Dionne Warwick, Amy Grant, The Imperials, B.J...
, which peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year she landed two songs on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the film Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
. One of the songs Holland recorded for Scarface, "She's on Fire", was also used in Grand Theft Auto 3. She later married Michael McDonald and sang backup vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on his records, in addition to singing backup on records by bands such as First Call.
Holland and McDonald had two children named Dylan (born in 1987) and Scarlett (born in 1991) and they moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2008, Holland released The Journey to Miracle River on Chonin Records. Produced by long-time friend Bernie Chiaravalle (singer/guitarist for Michael McDonald since 1988) the album was recorded in Nashville over an 8 year period. Holland co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs with Chiaravalle along with other writers John Goodwin, Jon Vezner, and Michael McDonald. Other songs were also penned by Robben Ford and Chazz Frichtel. Musicians include Bernie Chiaravalle (guitar, bass, keys, drums and vocals), Shannon Forrest (drums), Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
(vocals), Michael McDonald (keys, vocals), John Deaderick (keys), Tim Akers (keys), Stuart Duncan (violin), Tim Lorsch (violin), Dylan McDonald (vocals) and Dylan Morrison (bass). There have been requests for a fourth album, and Holland said on her Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
that she will make a new album.
Albums
- Amy Holland (Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, 1980) U.S. #146 - On Your Every Word (Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, 1983) (re-released by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 2005) - The Journey to Miracle RiverThe Journey to Miracle RiverThe Journey to Miracle River is the third and final 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...
(Chonin Records, 2008)
Soundtrack Recordings
- ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
(1983) — "Turn out the Night" (miscredited as "Turn out the Light") and "She's on Fire" - Night of the CometNight of the CometNight of the Comet is a 1984 film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. It has elements of such diverse genres as science fiction, horror, zombie apocalypse, comedy, and romance....
(1984) — "Learn to Love Again" (duet with Chris Farren) - Teen WolfTeen WolfTeen Wolf is a 1985 American fantasy comedy film released by Atlantic Releasing Corporation starring Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, a high school student who discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself transforming into a werewolf...
(1985) — "Shooting for the Moon" - St. Elmo's FireSt. Elmo's Fire (film)St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...
(1985) — "For Just a Moment (Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire)" (duet with Donny Gerrard) - Square DanceSquare Dance (film)Square Dance is a 1987 drama film written by Alan Hines, who also wrote the novel of the same name. The film was directed by Daniel Petrie and released on February 20, 1987.-Plot summary:...
(1987) — "Home" - The Lion of Africa (1987) — "Nothin' We Can Do" (duet with Chris Farren)
- K-9K-9 (film)K-9 is a 1989 American action comedy film starring James Belushi and Mel Harris. Directed by Rod Daniel and written by Steven Siegel and Scott Myers, it was produced by Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon, and released by Universal City Studios...
(1989) — "Iko IkoIko Iko"Iko Iko" is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two "tribes" of Mardi Gras Indians. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written in 1953 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in New Orleans. The story tells of a "spy boy" or "spy dog" "Iko Iko" is a...
" - One Life to LiveOne Life to LiveOne Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
(1994) — "All I Know" (duet with Michael McDonaldMichael McDonald (singer)Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
)
Television appearances
- Young Oh! Oh! (1980) — "How Do I Survive"
- Solid GoldSolid Gold (TV series)Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
(1980) — "How Do I Survive" - Auf Los Geht's Los (1980) — "Strengthen My Love", "How Do I Survive", "Stars"
- Music FairMusic FairMusic Fair is a Japanese music show on Fuji Television. It is the longest-running Japanese music show and is currently sponsored by Shionogi.- Hosts :*Fubuki Koshiji *Sachoko Hidari *Yōko Minamida & Hiroyuki Nagato...
(1980) — "How Do I Survive" - American BandstandAmerican BandstandAmerican Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
(1983) - "On Your Every Word", "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"Shake Me, Wake Me " is a 1966 hit single written and produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland and released as a single by the Four Tops on the Motown label....
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