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Biography
W. S. "Fluke" Holland (22 April 1935-23 September 2020) was an American drummer who played with Carl Perkins. Later, he became the drummer for Johnny Cash's backing bands, The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band.
Early life
W. S. "Fluke" Holland was born on April 22, 1935, in Saltillo, Tennessee. He attended J.B. Young High School in Bemis, Tennessee.
Career
Dubbed the "Father of the Drums" by Cash, Holland played drums on the 1955 Sun Records recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" and performed on the "Million Dollar Quartet" session that featured Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.
He appeared with the Carl Perkins band in Roy Lockwood's 1957 rock and roll movie Jamboree, performing "Glad All Over."
In 1959, Holland was invited to record alongside one-time Sun Records signee Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant.
Holland had spent five decades as Cash's drummer, playing on classics like 1964's I Walk the Line, 1965's Orange Blossom Special, and 1968's landmark At Folsom Prison.
In 2014, Holland was honored at the Carl Perkins Center in Jackson Tennessee for his 60 years of musical contributions.
On July 3, 2016, he was inducted into the "Radio Nostalgi Hall of Fame" in Sweden.
In 2018, he was honored with the "Lifetime Achievement" award during the annual Tennessee Music Awards event at the University of Memphis Lambuth in Jackson, Tennessee.
Media/Television
On his nickname "Fluke," he told Jackson Sun, "My nickname is 'Fluke' because everything I ever did seemed like a fluke."
In 1969, Holland featured on Robert Elfstrom's Cash documentary Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music.
In March 2006, he made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, alongside The Tennessee Three, Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Knoxville, and Nathan Kress.
In 2008, he was seen in another Cash documentary—Bestor Cram's Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
In November 2013, Holland made a cameo appearance on the History Channel program Pawn Stars, accompanying a classic car collector who was trying to sell Johnny Cash's Rolls Royce to Rick Harrison. The car was black because Johnny Cash was the Man in Black and Holland vouched that the car belonged to Cash. However, they did not agree on a price.
In 2015, Holland was seen in yet another Cash documentary Johnny Cash: American Rebel. Produced by Derik Murray and Jordan Tappis, the documentary featured many musicians and Cash family members including John Carter Cash, June Carter Cash, Rosanne Cash, Kathy Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Merle Haggard.
Death
Holland died on September 23, 2020, in Jackson, Tennessee, at the age of 85.