Creative and Dreams Music Network, LLC and Fred Cannon, KCHS are proud to present the multi-talented Doc Holiday.
Born in Newark, New Jersey to parents Edward Wohanka and Carmela Pagano Columbo and raised in Holmdel, NJ, he attended Centerville, a private two room school with a total of 23 students through the eight years he attended. Doc began studying music at age five and continued to study privately through the eighth grade.
He began performing live at the age of 13 with his first band called “The Harbor Lights” by the time he was 28 years of age, he had performed and worked with some of the biggest names in rock & roll: Jerry Lee Lewis, The Rascals, Bruce Springsteen, Vito & The Salutations, Randy & The Rainbows, The Dupree’s, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Danny & The Juniors, Ray Charles, and The Fifth Dimension, just to name a few.
This creative man was constantly recording, producing and performing music. While working at the famed Bradley’s Barn in Nashville, Sun Studios in Memphis, Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Virtue Recording Studios in Philadelphia, Alpha Audio in Virginia, Acoustic Loop Studios in Alabama, Fame Studios in Alabama, and The Record Plant in New York City he worked on national projects such as: Jimi Hendrix, The Rascals, Mountain, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, Eddie Holman, The Stylistics, Loretta Lynn.
His production credits include legendary artist: Mel McDaniel, The Kentucky Headhunters, Drummie Zeb of The Wailers, Jeffrey Steele, Ricky Lynn Gregg, Becky Hobbs, Big Al Downing, Herman’s Hermits, Mike Pender’s Searchers, Jon Washington of the Fortunes, Chauncey Black of Blackstreet, Bernard Jackson of Surface, Doug Dillard (of The Darlings from The Andy Griffith Show), Gary Pine from Bob Marley’s Wailers, Cissie Lynn (The Coal Miners Daughter’s Daughter), The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, and Doug “The Ragin’ Cajun” Kershaw to name a few. Doc Holiday has produced over 600 lifetime chart records, with over 100 of them hitting the #1 spot on different charts worldwide.
Doc also headed the A & R department for ABC Paramount in New York City.
As an entertainer, he accomplished three complete world tours. He and his band have toured, appeared, or performed with The McCoys, The Beach Boys, Chubby Checker, The Kingston Trio, Yes, Donovan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bobby Goldsboro, Ray Charles, Bobby Rydell, Fabian, The Doobie Brothers, The Allman Brothers, Wet Willie, Jan & Dean, Sha Na Na, Jose Feliciano, Big Al Downing, Waylon Jennings, Mickey Gilley, B.J. Thomas, Billy Crash Craddock, Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad and numerous other national acts.
Doc retired from touring in 1983 and opened the first Power Plant recording studio in Miami, FL. in 1985 and the second Power Plant studio on Caribou Island, where he purchased land off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada in 1988. He would open the third Power Plant studio in Hampton, Virginia.
Doc was elected to the “Who’s Who in Entertainment,” along with Madonna and Prince in 1995. He is also the CEO of three international music publishing companies, a major stock holder in Mega International Records and Tug Boat International Records. He’s been a disc jockey on five major radio stations and a syndicated show “Where Are They Now?” in the USA. Doc won numerous entertainment awards, 33 first round Grammy entries, and 17 Telly Awards” for music videos, with 2 nominations and a win for “Nammy” awards (Native American Music Awards), plus 17 Global Music Awards. He was the only producer in the history of the recording industry to grace the cover of Cashbox Magazine and covers of Billboard and Record World Publications.
As an actor, Doc Holiday has appeared on network television with appearances on “The FBI Files” and “Daring Capers” for the Discovery Television Network, and a part in the movie of the week for TLC called “A Family Torn.” In 2002 and 2003, “The Doc Holiday Show” won “The Telly Awards” for late night music video variety show and ran for 5 years on the Fox Network affiliate and was discontinued after the unexpected death of his co-host Henry “The Bull”. Doc’s made many guest appearances on national talk shows through the years.
In July of 2005, Doc enjoyed the rebirth of his career as a recording artist when he released his first new self-penned album since 1983, Payback’s a Bitch. The album reached the #1 spot in the world independent charts of “Tracker Magazine” on July 15, 2000 and stayed at #1 for 4 consecutive weeks receiving airplay in 15 countries around the world. The music video from the title song, “Payback’s a Bitch” was aired on national television in rotation on IMNTV for 5 weeks. A second music video from that album, “How Can You Live” received the 2003 “Telly Award” for best independent music video.
As the CEO of two internationally distributed record companies, Mega International Records formed in 1987 and Tug Boat International Records, formed in 1984, Doc’s artists and companies were nominated for a record 22 awards from the “OLC” country music awards in Nevada in the year 2000. He produced 23 albums that were considered in the first round entries for Grammy awards from years 2000 to 2013. In 2001, he won “Producer of the Years at the Golden Music Awards, in Nashville, TN. along with, “Label of the Year” for Mega International Records. In 2015, 2016, and 2017 he won “The Nashville Universe Award” as record producer of the year.
Doc expanded from music videos into motion pictures as well and producing “The Polish Border Incident,” a true story about international spies in the early 80’s filmed on location in Germany and Poland. Then a television pilot for Dark Side enterprises called: “Heinz Altmann, Bullet Catcher” a true story of a high level, high profile, bodyguard which was aired on Fox television.
Another movie project was “Broken Badge,” the true story of the federal agent that exposed Washington DC mayor Marion Barry to the world as being involved with corruption and drugs within the nation’s capital. In 2009, Doc started working on a television show pilot titled “Is It Real or Is It Hollywood.” The first episode explores the television show “The Walton’s” and the difference between the Hollywood version of the Walton’s and the real family the show was written about. This episode was filmed on location in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the actual family lived.
He now resides in Newport News, VA. and currently works out of Sony ATV studios in Nashville, TN.
“It all begins with a creative dream” Sir Fred Cannon, KCHS
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With the launch of this series Creative and Dreams Music Network, LLC distribution is making available classics of the past from artists such as Big Al Downing, Cissie Lynn, Herman’s Hermits, The Fortunes, Doc Holiday, Musicial Memories of Mayberry and many more available Internationally.
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