Holly Knight - Holly Knight (1988)

Ah, how I love visitors to this blog! Here is an album I've been desperately searching for in MP3, as I only have the cassette but knew how perfect it would be for the Isle. And DJMPHACTOR aka A.J. was kind enough to share it with us all. Thanks so much! Holly Knight has been a well-known fixture in the American pop and rock world since the early 1980s. In her native New York she joined the rock band Spider as their keyboardist and songwriter in the late 1970s. They had two albums and three Hot 100 Billboard hits in the early 1980s: "New Romance (It's A Mystery)" (#39), "It Didn't Take Long" (#41) and "Everything Is Alright" (#86). They were also the first to record the song "Better Be Good To Me", written by Holly and later made a hit by Tina Turner. After Spider broke up, she continued as a very successful songwriter, writing huge hits like Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield" and "Invincible", Animotion's "Obsession", Scandal's "The Warrior" and Heart's "Never". In 1986 she teamed up with singer Paul Engemann and guitarist Gene Black as Device, and they had two Billboard Hot 100 hits as well: "Hanging On A Heart Attack" (#35) and "Who Says" (#79). However, they split after only one album, and Holly set her sights on a solo career. After her hot streak through the 1980s as a songwriter and band member, label Columbia obviously thought she was viable as an artist in her own right and signed her on as a solo artist. Her album was written by Holly, who also produced it with pop-rock producer Peter Chapman, and features famous friends like Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates and Nancy Wilson from Heart. Her first single, "Heart Don't Fail Me Now", was a mid-tempo dance-pop song and reached #59 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up, "Every Man's Fear" (my fave), failed to chart and her solo career quickly dissolved. This was likely because, though an accomplished songwriter, producer and keyboardist, she was admittedly not the strongest singer, as is most evident in her version of "Love Is A Battlefield" (though who can compare vocally to Pat Benatar?). Undeterred, she has continued a very successful career as a songwriter and producer since, and still works with top-shelf performers. Also, the album track "Howling At The Moon" was incorporated into a dance song by Scooter, spotlighting her brief time as a vocalist (if anyone knows what this song is called, BTW, please let me know!).

Video for Heart Don't Fail Me Now

Download Holly Knight

1		Heart Don't Fail Me Now
2		Every Man's Fear
3		Sexy Boy
4		It's Only Me
5		Palace Of Pleasure
6		Why Dont'cha Luv Me (Like You Used To)
7		Baby Me
8		Love Is A Battlefield
9		Nature Of The Beast
10		Howling At The Moon