Holly Holy
| "Holly Holy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| B-side | "Hurtin' You Don't Come Easy" | |||
| Released | October 13, 1969 | |||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||
| Genre | Pop, rock | |||
| Length |
4:27 (single version) 4:40 (album version) | |||
| Label | Uni | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Holly Holy" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond with instrumental backing provided by L.A. session[1] musicians from The Wrecking Crew. Released as a single on October 13, 1969,[2] it was a successful follow-on to "Sweet Caroline", reaching #6 on the U.S. pop singles chart by December.[3][4] The song also reached #5 on the Easy Listening chart.[5] It became a gold record and then eventually a platinum record.[2]
A work with a spiritual focus,[6] "Holly Holy" was influenced by gospel music[2] and was Diamond's favorite of the songs he had written to that point.[4] It begins quietly with acoustic guitar against a bass line, with the sparse lyric stretched with elongated vowels. Gradually the arrangement builds with a tempo shift in the bridge and a backing choir against strings lasting throughout.
"Holly Holy" was later included on Diamond's November 1969 album Touching You, Touching Me.[2] It has been included in live versions on Diamond's Hot August Night (from 1972) and Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 (from 1992) as well as various compilations.
Other versions
- Produced by Clancy Eccles in 1970, the song was an instant success for Jamaican reggae group the Fabulous Flames, almost crossing into the UK's popular music chart.[7]
- Reggae singer John Holt covered the song in 1971. His version is included on Solid Gold Coxsone Style, a compilation of Coxsone Dodd's recordings.
- A treatment of "Holly Holy" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars was a modest R&B hit in 1971.[2]
- Holly Holy was sung by Cher in her 1970s variety show.
- Nancy Sinatra covered the song for her second TV special "Movin' with Nancy on Stage" in 1971. Her studio recording was released on her 2013 album Shifting Gears.
- "Holly Holy" was covered in 1998 by UB40.
- "Holly Holy" was a key soundtrack song in Holy Smoke![8]
- In Here Comes the Boom, it is sung by Charice.
- It was used in Saving Silverman.
- "Holly Holy" was played at the end of "Landing", the season 1 finale of The Astronaut Wives Club.[9]
Lyrics
The song draws upon gospel music for inspiration, and is particularly noted for its inspiring gospel style lyrics.[10]
Call the sun in the dead of the night
And the sun's gonna rise in the sky
Touch a man who can’t walk upright
And that lame man, he’s gonna fly
And I fly
And I fly
References
- ↑ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin’s Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
- 1 2 3 4 5 William Ruhlmann. "Neil Diamond: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1983). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: 1955 to present. Billboard Publications. ISBN 0-8230-7511-7. p. 88.
- 1 2 Jackson, Laura (2005). Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-707-6. pp. 65–66.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 72.
- ↑ Neil McCormick (2008-03-05). "Neil Diamond: the hurt, the dirt, the shirts". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ↑ AllMusic. "Fabulous Flames". AllMusic. AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ↑ "Holy Smoke (1999) - Soundtracks". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
- ↑ "The Astronaut Wives Club Music - S1E10: "Landing"". TuneFind.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ↑ "Lefsetz Letter » Blog Archive Holly Holy » Lefsetz Letter". Lefsetz.com. 2005-08-26. Retrieved 2014-07-28.