1958 - Never Go To Mexico / [Johnny George - Music City Hop (instrumental)] (Music City 818)
1961 - Got My Letter / The New Trucking (Lyons 107)
1963 - Send Back My Love / Deacon Brown Vs. The Devil (Galaxy714)
Unreleased :
1958 - I'm Going (Music City)
1958 - Station L.O.V.E. (Music City)
1958 - Hoochie Coochie Man (Music City)
1958 - Angel iIn My Heart (Music City)
1958 - Church Bells Will Ring (Music City)
1958 - PS My Darling (Music City)
1958 - Wouldn't Believe (Music City)
Biography :
The Holidays were formed in 1955 by Kenneth Pleasents at Oakland
High. In 1957, The Holidays were composed of Ken Pleasents, Tenor and
lead; Elton Stevens, Tenor; John Foster, Lead Tenor; Stan Harris, Second
Tenor and Isaah Brown , Baritone. The group went to Ray Dobard at Music
City. They stood in Dobard's makeshift back room studio with its
rag-covered walls and recorded five songs, "I'm going,""Station
L.O.V.E.,""Hoochie Coochie Man," the ballad "Angel" , and a novelty
which sounded like an answer record to the Coasters' waxing of "Down in
Mexico" without the Latin beat entitled "Never go to Mexico."
Elton Stevens, Ken Pleasents, John Foster, Stan Harris & Isaah Brown
Some weeks later when the record came out, the group rushed down to
the pressing plant on East 14th Street in Oakland, expecting to pick up a
45 rpm record with two of their own numbers on it, only to find a
novelty song on one side ("Never go to Mexico") and an instrumental,
"Music City Hop" . By 1961, the group was being managed by Fat Daddy
Lyons, founder and proprietor of the Lyons label on which blues soloist
Eddie Foster is best remembered. Fat Daddy recorded the Holidays with
Wylie Trass who also waxed for Lyons as a single.
The group's one Lyons record, "Got my letter," was a pretty ballad
marred only by the cheap pressing and poor fidelity. Anguished lead
vocals and wailing harmonies prevailed. "The new trucking," the jump
tune chosen for the reverse, was a conscious effort to climb on the
prevailing dance-craze bandwagon and is significant because good
close-harmony singing is certainly better demonstrated here than on
other more melodic Holidays recordings. In 1963, the Holidays cut their
third and final record for Galaxy entitled "Send Back My Love."
