Red Holt

Born on May 16, 1932, Redd Holt established his initial reputation in 1956 when he joined the Ramsey Lewis Trio, a unit that kept him busy cutting well-received instrumental sides for nine years. Among those releases were the 1965 pop-jazz successes “Hang on Sloopy” and “The In Crowd.” Not long after those recordings climbed the charts, Holt and bassist Eldee Young parted ways with Lewis and signed to Brunswick, where pianist Don Walker completed the lineup known as the Young-Holt Trio. A modest hit arrived in the form of the soul-flavored novelty “Wack Wack,” after which the pair reorganized once more, this time under the name Young-Holt Unlimited, the vehicle that delivered their signature success “Soulful Strut.” During the 1970s Holt launched his own ensemble, Redd Holt Unlimited, preserving the soul-jazz approach that had defined his earlier work. Brief reunions with Ramsey Lewis occurred in the early 1980s, yet Holt soon shifted his focus to leading his own bands on the road and in clubs. He stayed active in both leadership and supporting roles through the 1990s, and a later audience discovered his playing when hip-hop producers such as Kendrick Lamar, De La Soul, and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth sampled his catalog. Redd Holt passed away on May 23, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 91.