Guyanese singer Mark Holder, best known for his soulful salute to women in his song “Something of Value”, died at the age of seventy-four last Thursday morning in an hospital in Canada where he was ailing for some time.
Prior to his death his wife, Jennifer, had shared a video of a frail looking Mark speaking to his family and friends from the hospital.
Mark was born in Georgetown and grew up in Joseph Pollydore Street (what was then D’Urban Street), Lodge. In a 2010 interview with The Scene he had said during the early part of his life, he attended the Government Technical Institute and achieved a Diploma in Woodworking, which he did while employed with the government as a Stationery and Printery clerk.
But he was always been musically inclined and had started his singing career. “Using the funds from my Woodworking projects,” he had said at the time, he produced his first single “Those Thrilling Emotions”, which was recorded with his band Bumble & The Saints in 1966. “This song was composed with the help of my father Percival Eustace Holder and became an instant hit,” he said.
This was in the days of such bands as Combo 7, the Rhythmaires, the Diamonds and the Telstars, he added.
He had mentioned then what a thrill it was to record both his early hits—“Those Thrilling Emotions” and his highest grossing single then “Something Of Value” which was backed by The Telstars—at the then Radio Demerara Studio.
As his singing career took off, Mark left Woodworking behind and ventured to the Caribbean, where he worked with such musicians as the Mighty Sparrow, Arrow, Peter Tosh, Ken Lazarus and Jackie Opel among others.
He toured the world during his musical career and has released over 500 tunes, 20 albums and 10 CDs.
His career spanned more than 30 years, way back to the 70s when following the production of his album ‘All The Way’ at Coach House Studio in England, Guyanese international superstar Eddy Grant had prophetically told him, “We at Coach House know you will go ‘All The Way.’”
As a pioneer in Caribbean music, Mark was one of the first such artists to sign with Atlantic and Capital Records. He toured worldwide including with Eddy, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson Five and the Mighty Sparrow and has a large fan base in Canada, the US and Europe.
