Dick Holler

“Abraham, Martin and John” became an anthem of grief and remembrance during the civil rights movement, poignantly capturing the sorrow of a nation in one of America's most turbulent years. Dion’s original recording reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1968. Marvin Gaye’s version later reached the UK Top 10, peaking at No. 9 in 1970. Bob Dylan also recorded the song in 1980 and later released it on Columbia. The song has since become an American standard and received a BMI Award recognizing more than five million broadcast performances.

“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” became a multi-million-selling hit for The Royal Guardsmen in 1966, spending four weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1973, a version by The Hotshots reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2019, Stonehenge Music, owned by Dick’s sons David and Reno, placed the song in Quentin Tarantino’s Academy Award-winning film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where it plays during the film’s climactic poolside sequence as Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Rick Dalton, sings along.

Long before his songwriting success, Dick was part of the emerging rock ’n’ roll scene in Louisiana. After moving to Baton Rouge in 1951 and attending LSU, he appeared on local television programs including Hit or Miss and Teen Town Rally, fronted bands including The Nightrainers, and performed alongside such artists as Johnny Rivers, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), Jimmy Clanton, Bobby Darin, Bobby Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis. In recognition of his contribution to Louisiana music, Dick was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

NEW RELEASE — 2026

Now, nearly 70 years after its 1957 recording, a long-lost Dick Holler song is finally seeing the light of day. Never commercially released, “Uncle Charlie” was written by Dick Holler and recorded with Dick Holler and the Nightrainers on January 12, 1957, at the legendary New Orleans studio of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Cosimo Matassa. Just nine days earlier, Fats Domino had recorded “I’m Walkin’” in the same studio.

Restored from its original acetate, the recording bursts with driving boogie-shuffle piano and tenor sax, wrapped in playful New Orleans R&B and Louis Jordan-style jump blues storytelling. It features 22-year-old Dick Holler on piano and vocals and future rock & roll star Jimmy Clanton, then 18, on guitar.

The recording receives its first official release on October 16, 2026 — Dick Holler’s 92nd birthday. A special YouTube video commemorating the release features rare photographs, concert posters and television appearances from Holler’s early career, including images of young musicians who would later become major stars. 

Click here to pre-save and listen to “Uncle Charlie” 

Today, Dick still writes, stays close to his music and family, and enjoys a quieter life in Berkeley, California.

And the beat goes on…