In the fall of 1970, when I was 14, one of my favorite records was "Holy Man" by a singer named Diane Kolby. This is her only record to make the national charts, getting to #67 on Billboard. She was signed to Columbia Records as something of a new Janis Joplin (big, bluesy voice), but as far as I can tell, after one album, she vanished from the music scene. According to Internet ephemera, she is currently living in Texas. I have always loved this song; I played the 45 to death, and I have never seen it crop on a CD, though I got a copy off of Napster way back when, so it has remained an active part of my musical life.
The lyrics are interesting: A woman singing softly but dramatically to a man:
"You know you/You're the one/Who said 'I can fly'
I know you/You're the one/Who knows when I will die."
The chorus, fast and raucous, says,
"Let me run down your fingers/Til I melt in your hands
Then lead me into your wisdom/Teach me.... holy man"
I assumed the song was about a woman obsessed with a preacher, and even when I was 14, I assumed a certain ironic distance about the lyrics, as though Kolby the singer was not necessarily Kolby the character, and she was not necessarily "endorsing," if you will, this obsession. (Wow, was I thinking too hard back then? Maybe that's one reason why I never really had a date until college.)
But now I find a homemade video on YouTube for the song, and it's all about Jesus. I find that just a bit creepy, as the song seems to have a certain physical lust at its core. If it is someone singing to Jesus, then it feels like a showtune for a Southen Gothic musical melodrama. Of course, my interpretation is probably just as creepy, like a darker "Son of a Preacher Man." I can think of no interpretation of this song that wouldn't be at least a little weird. But I still love the song, and sing it in the shower on occasion. (I guess that's a little creepy, too.)
11 comments:
I'm trying to see the video as intentionally ironic. The long, lingering image of :50 through 1:10 adds credence to this interpretation. I hope. I pray. Okay, no, I just hope.
Well, there may be something to that lingering image Jesus as game show host. But I like the earlier image, around :37 of the hot, sexy, tortured Jesus. That *does* give the song a whole new slant.
Diane is living in Bastrop Texas. Her song is about Jesus whom she loves. Her career ended abuptly because she would have been destroyed as Janis Joplin was had she continued with her music. There were evil influences which she removed herself from in order to save her soul. As scripture says, what does it benefit a man if he should gain the world and loose his soul. Diane sang for my family (wife and children) yesterday on the road to Luling Texas to see some horses. I was not there and I have never heard her sing. The first thing my son said when he came back home was "man that lady can sing" and as you can determine she is probably in her late 60's by now. She will care after our animals and veggies at our farm where I hope to get to know her better later this year. Sammy.
Well said Sammy. Diane is my aunt and you have summerized her departure quite accurately. The slide show with this video pretty much sums up her relationship with Jesus. Although some may find it creepy, the images represent what most small town Texas folk from her era are used to associating with their Christian roots. Some trivia for y'all: Her last name is spelled Kolbe. The record company made her change it to be phenetic. And she is an absolute "hoot" to be around. She is always, joking, singing and praising her Lord.
This single did quite well in Australia. It made the national charts
This song, sung with such fervent passion by Diane, brings me back to my 8th year, in Western Australia, specifically to the summer of 1970/71. It was a popular hit in Australia, and covered again by local artist Allison Durbin in 1971. From that time through until earlier this year I never heard it, it's lyric and melody remaining a song fragment I'd pull out of my subconscious to sing in my minds eye randomly from time to time, never knowing from where it had come. Not until local 50s/60s Curtin 100.1 FM radio station played it, and my ears pricked up. I never knew who sang it until today. I don't know the circumstances as to why Diane withdrew from the music industry, but all I can say is this song had heart, soul and passion and should have been a huge hit from the UK , USA to elsewhere. Rockin' performance, great song!
Just picked up this song from Diane on an Australian LP compilation ("20 Solid Hits") in Country Victoria, Aust and yes, what a great voice indeed ! Diane is alongside The Byrds, The Bee Gees, Jimmy Cliff, Free and our very own Chain & her song really does jump out and soak in. Interesting comments and thanks for the info, Scott
It doesn't matter what superstitions a child is taught. Rarely do folks escape what they learn at their mother's knee. So much good talent has gone by the wayside because the artist believed something that had nothing to with reality. Religion, surely, is the opiate of the people. It's just sad that we didn't get to experience more from the great Diane Kolby because of some strange belief that she couldn't shake.
Religion, certainly is the culprit here. It has destroyed so many lives of so many people and so many countries for so very long. Religion destroys lives and then, curiously, offers a solution for the mess it has left with the individuals It has broken in a lifetime.
"Religion" doesn't do any of that. People do that.
You are right people do that, but they learn how to do that from religion. A good example is cutting off the foreskin of a male baby without his permission. People do that, but the religion forces them into it most of the time.
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