Eldridge Holmes

New Orleans soul singer Eldridge Holmes entered the world in Violet, Louisiana, during 1942. Around 1962 he initiated a creative partnership with producer Allen Toussaint, resulting in his first appearance on the Alon label—run by Toussaint and Joe Banashak—with the single “Poor Me.” The vigorous “Begging for Your Love” came next, while 1963’s “I’ve Got to Keep on Trying” steered Holmes toward country-soul terrain. None of these Alon releases sparked commercial traction, so after issuing two additional sides, “Popcorn Pop Pop” and “Emperor Jones,” he departed to cultivate a smoother, more cosmopolitan soul approach. That direction surfaced on 1964’s “Gone Gone Gone,” the initial Toussaint co-write he cut for Washington, D.C.’s Jet Set imprint. When the follow-up “Humpback” failed to launch a hoped-for dance trend, Holmes moved to Sansu—another Toussaint concern—where 1965’s “Without a Word” emerged as his most refined statement yet; its Sansu counterpart, “Beverly,” conversely proved his funkiest outing to that point. Despite the range of his voice and writing, Holmes stayed largely obscure even in the Crescent City until 1967’s “Where Is Love,” released on Toussaint’s Deesu label. A local smash, the track was picked up nationally by Decca yet made no national impact, and neither did its successor, a cover of Lee Dorsey’s “Working in a Coal Mine.” Decca soon ended the relationship, prompting Holmes to reappear on Deesu in 1969 with “The Book,” a fiery funk track backed by the Meters. A luminous version of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” followed, after which “Lovely Woman”—a nod to his Jet Set-era sweet soul—marked his exit from the imprint. He surfaced next on Atco with 1970’s “Pop Popcorn Children,” tracked alongside the Meters during their Look-Ka Py Py sessions; it remained his sole release for the company. In 1972 Holmes rejoined Toussaint for the Wardell Quezergue-arranged “Love Affair,” the inaugural single on the fledgling Brown Sugar label and the singer’s last recording. He subsequently worked as a bus driver, nursing assistant, and mechanic before succumbing to heart disease in 1998.