Clint Holmes Bio
Singer Clint Holmes only managed to notch one entry into the
record charts, but his 1973 hit "Playground in My Mind" was one of the
more memorable songs by a one-hit wonder. Born on May 9, 1946, in
Bournemouth, Dorset, England, to an opera-singing mother and a
jazz-musician father, Holmes grew up in Farnham, NY. Singing and acting
since childhood, Holmes was playing in rock bands by high school and
went on to study music in college. A stint in the Army found him
singing in a military chorus and, when he was relocated to Washington,
D.C., Holmes continued to sing in clubs after his discharge, gaining a
regional following. While performing at a club in the Bahamas, he was
spotted by Johnny Mathis' producer, who was interested in having Holmes
cut a couple songs, including "Playground in My Mind." Recorded in May
of 1972, the song was an unmitigated flop upon its release the next
month.
However, in November of that year, a radio station in Wichita, KS,
began playing the song in conjunction with the holidays (apparently
feeling that the sing-song nature of the track gave it a seasonal feel)
and it drew a massive response, leading to more stations picking up on
it. Before the year was out, Epic Records, which has originally
released the single, had Holmes in the studio to record a full-length
album in hopes of capitalizing on the song's increasing momentum. In
June 1973, "Playground in My Mind" had climbed to number two, lodged
behind Paul McCartney's "My Love" and sold over a million copies.
Pegged as a novelty act, Holmes was unable to come close to matching
the song's success with subsequent releases. Although he continued to
sing and perform, he also branched out, acting as Joan Rivers' sidekick
on her short-lived television program, The Late Show. More successful
was a two-year stint on the popular Entertainment Tonight, where he
served as a music and events correspondent. By the end of the '90s,
Holmes was performing clubs again, appearing in Atlantic City and Las
Vegas. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
Written by Tom Demalon
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