Biography
Born in Kensett, Arkansas, on June 9, 1926, as Jackie Jean Crouch, Georgia Holt entered the world to a teenage mother and an alcoholic father whose later violence included an attempt on her life, though he did instruct her in guitar. Hardship, desertion, and want marked her childhood, yet she sought shelter in song, dance, and stage performance, already appearing on an Oklahoma radio broadcast by age six and sharing a stage with Bob Wills at ten. Multiple talent and beauty contests followed, and her combination of skill, appearance, and ambition eventually carried her to Hollywood, where she worked as an actress and model while logging guest spots on series such as I Love Lucy and Ozzie and Harriet. Over the course of eight marriages—two of them to the same partners—she gave birth to Cher in 1946 and Georganne LaPiere in 1951, both of whom would pursue acting careers, Cher additionally becoming an iconic singer.
In 1980 Holt cut the album Honky Tonk Woman, which contained a duet with Cher and contributions from members of Elvis Presley’s band, yet the project remained unreleased and its master tapes sat forgotten in her garage. Rediscovered long afterward and refined slightly by Cher’s musical director, the recording finally reached the public via CD Baby in 2013. Holt died in Malibu on December 10, 2022, at the age of 96.
In 1980 Holt cut the album Honky Tonk Woman, which contained a duet with Cher and contributions from members of Elvis Presley’s band, yet the project remained unreleased and its master tapes sat forgotten in her garage. Rediscovered long afterward and refined slightly by Cher’s musical director, the recording finally reached the public via CD Baby in 2013. Holt died in Malibu on December 10, 2022, at the age of 96.
Albums