Rupert Holmes -

Rupert Holmes (born Feb. 24, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, playwright, and screenwriter with a career in entertainment that dates to the late 1960s. Starting as a hit-writer for The Cuff Links and The Buoys, he emerged as a recording artist with a string of production-pop albums during the second half of the 1970s.

As a composer, Holmes is revered for his lavish arrangements, cinematic lyrics, and intricate chordal passages. His songs have been covered by Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Carol Douglas, The Manhattan Transfer, and numerous others. His production credits include albums for Orchestra Luna, John Miles, Sparks, and Sailor.

Rupert Holmes was born David Goldstein in Northwich, Cheshire, England, on February 24, 1947. His father, Leonard Eliot Goldstein, was a bandleader for the US Army. His mother was English. Holmes retains dual US/UK citizenship. When he was six years old, the family moved to the northern NYC suburb of Nanuet.

Holmes attended the Manhattan School of Music, where he majored in clarinet. His brother, Richard, is a lyric baritone who has sung with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Glimmerglass, and the Metropolitan Opera.

Holmes began his music career as a session player, writer, and arranger for other artists. In 1968, his song “I’ve Got the World to Hold Me Up” was issued as a single by singer/actor Vince Edwards. Under the alias Julian Gill, Holmes notched conductor/arranger credits on the singles “I Can Remember” (b/w “Time Passes By”) by Doc Galvez and “Hey There Blondie” (b/w “Are You In Love“) by Motive: Music, both on Scepter Records.

In 1969, Holmes arranged six songs on the album Tracy by The Cuff Links. Concurrently, he arranged the album Jennifer Tomkins for the bubblegum studio project Street People, produced by Paul Vance for Musicor Records.

Discography: