Davey Holt And The Hubcaps, "You Move Me" c/w "Pittery Pat," United Artists 110x (rel. 3/58)
From child actor to real estate mogul, David Holt had a very Hollywood life. The inclusion of a one-shot rockabilly single in early 1958 was par for the course. Born in 1927, Holt was seen as a male equivalent to Shirley Temple by Paramount Pictures. The Florida-born youth was an able dancer at age six and so impressed comedian-actor Will Rogers that he gave them the classic "if you're ever in Hollywood, look me up."
The Holts took him at his word and relocated to Southern California. Rogers refused to see them and lost a few fans that day. David's mother was determined her boy would make it in Hollywood. She peddled him at various auditions. He was cast as the central figure of a 1934 melodrama, You Belong to Me, alongside Lee Tracy, Helen Morgan and Dean Jagger.
The Holts took him at his word and relocated to Southern California. Rogers refused to see them and lost a few fans that day. David's mother was determined her boy would make it in Hollywood. She peddled him at various auditions. He was cast as the central figure of a 1934 melodrama, You Belong to Me, alongside Lee Tracy, Helen Morgan and Dean Jagger.
Young Holt was the first pick for the title role of David Copperfield until producer David Selznick had issues with an American boy portraying a British child. Freddie Bartholomew was found and Holt given his walking papers.
This massive disappointment may have set off a resentful streak in Holt, whose on-the-set antics soon branded him as a problem child. Away the lead roles went, and he shows up in smaller parts in such films as 1938's Beau Geste and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A prominent later role was in 1942's Pride of the Yankees, where his emotional portrayal of a polio sufferer who learns to walk got a strong audience reaction. Nonetheless, he continued to be placed in lesser roles and bottomed out in the 1949 B-movie melodrama She Shoulda Said No, a marijuana scare film that starred real-life drug bustee Lila Leeds, who was caught with actor Robert Mitchum enjoying some of the green stuff and arrested.
Holt continued to work on TV as a young adult actor; at age 30, he took notice of the rock 'n' roll sensation and, though he was a bit old for the role, took on the part of Elvis Presley for a one-off release for United Artists. With LA sax man Plas Johnson (the performer on Henry Mancini's iconic "Pink Panther" theme) and an ad-hoc rock group The Hubcaps, Holt reinvented himself as a contender for the pop charts.
By this time, Holt had begun a new career as songwriter and pianist. He preferred modern jazz, but gives pop rockabilly a solid go on this vivacious platter. "Pittery Pat," as Billboard's review notes, owes something to Otis Blackwell's song "Don't Be Cruel;" its first few lines border on plagiarism. This, to be fair, was rampant in early rock 'n' roll; one could compile a CD/playlist of songs that riff on Elvis' early hits this way.
With Johnson's stellar sax, bouncy bass and a tight rhythm section behind him, Holt's plummy Southern voice delivers the steamy goods on a solid slice of teen-themed, no-nonsense studio rockabilly. He's an excellent vocalist with (no surprise) a thespian's sense of how and when to place emotional emphasis on words and phrases. It all makes a solid chonk of sound that transcends the soundalike vibe and delivers the genuine goods.
This massive disappointment may have set off a resentful streak in Holt, whose on-the-set antics soon branded him as a problem child. Away the lead roles went, and he shows up in smaller parts in such films as 1938's Beau Geste and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A prominent later role was in 1942's Pride of the Yankees, where his emotional portrayal of a polio sufferer who learns to walk got a strong audience reaction. Nonetheless, he continued to be placed in lesser roles and bottomed out in the 1949 B-movie melodrama She Shoulda Said No, a marijuana scare film that starred real-life drug bustee Lila Leeds, who was caught with actor Robert Mitchum enjoying some of the green stuff and arrested.
Holt continued to work on TV as a young adult actor; at age 30, he took notice of the rock 'n' roll sensation and, though he was a bit old for the role, took on the part of Elvis Presley for a one-off release for United Artists. With LA sax man Plas Johnson (the performer on Henry Mancini's iconic "Pink Panther" theme) and an ad-hoc rock group The Hubcaps, Holt reinvented himself as a contender for the pop charts.
With Johnson's stellar sax, bouncy bass and a tight rhythm section behind him, Holt's plummy Southern voice delivers the steamy goods on a solid slice of teen-themed, no-nonsense studio rockabilly. He's an excellent vocalist with (no surprise) a thespian's sense of how and when to place emotional emphasis on words and phrases. It all makes a solid chonk of sound that transcends the soundalike vibe and delivers the genuine goods.
Billboard's proofreader must have been on vacaiton for their April 7, 1958 issue. Right above this review is one for a new release by Dianh Shore. "Subcaps" is an interesting title for something or the other...
"You Move Me" is a 1920s-sounding song that Holt sings in close harmony with an unknown second voice. This could have been recorded in 1927 with few changes (substitute ukuleles for guitars and a genteel dance band for the rock 'n' roll sound). Johnson shines on this old-school rocker which also suggests Elvis in general.
The band is tight as an Army bed during inspection and it's a pity no one besides Johnson emerges as soloist. The fervent piano in the background may have been Holt's; it functions as a rhythm instrument and helps drive the fast tempos of both sides. Billboard deemed this the top side and I'm in agreement.
The band is tight as an Army bed during inspection and it's a pity no one besides Johnson emerges as soloist. The fervent piano in the background may have been Holt's; it functions as a rhythm instrument and helps drive the fast tempos of both sides. Billboard deemed this the top side and I'm in agreement.
David Holt didn't record again, but remained in music. As songwriter, he collaborated with Sammy Cahn on "The Christmas Blues," a song that has picked up some cover versions over the years but resisted being part of the small holiday song canon. Bob Dylan recorded the song for his who'da-thunk-it 2009 Yuletide album Christmas in the Heart. Holt also worked with jazz musician Pete Jolly.
The real money came from SoCal real estate. Holt began to peddle land in the 1960s and did well from it. He retired in 1985 and worked on his memoirs, which remained incomplete when he passed on 2003 from congestive heart failure. I wonder if a strain from "Piddley Pat" ever crossed his mind as ironic counterpart to real-life woes?
Tomorrow: The Avons, who made several singles for New York label Hull Records, with a 1957 doo-wop twin-spin with a gentle vibe. Pleasant mid-week music.
The real money came from SoCal real estate. Holt began to peddle land in the 1960s and did well from it. He retired in 1985 and worked on his memoirs, which remained incomplete when he passed on 2003 from congestive heart failure. I wonder if a strain from "Piddley Pat" ever crossed his mind as ironic counterpart to real-life woes?
Tomorrow: The Avons, who made several singles for New York label Hull Records, with a 1957 doo-wop twin-spin with a gentle vibe. Pleasant mid-week music.
"Pittery Pat" with its "Don't Be Cruel"/"(Let Me Be Your)Teddy Bear" sound seems a too on-the-nose Elvis impression. "You Move Me" is a delightful fun and fast song. The yakety sax seems weird for a 1958 rock 'n' roll song—should have been a guitar solo? But... then there was the Coaster's March 1958 hit "Yakety Yak" with that wackety sax sound.
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