Holmes Brothers guitarist Wendell Holmes says that, to switch from gospel to blues, you just take out “Jesus” and put in “baby”

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 8, 2004

By Steve Newton

Since forming in New York City in 1979, the Holmes Brothers have specialized in blending the genres of blues and gospel. According to guitarist-vocalist Wendell Holmes, there’s a simple shortcut to that musical end.

“You just reverse the thing,” he explains on the line from his home in Baltimore. “You take out Jesus and put in baby, and it works every time.”

Whether aiming for sanctified gospel or low-down roadhouse blues, the Holmes Brothers deliver. On its new CD, Simple Truths, the band–which includes Wendell’s older brother Sherman on bass and vocals, and drummer-vocalist Popsy Dixon–mixes soulful originals with interpretive covers of tunes by the likes of Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Bob Marley, and Townes Van Zant.

The adventurous trio even tackles “Shine”, the breakthrough radio hit by ’90s guitar rockers Collective Soul. Simple Truths producer Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones) brought that unlikely song to the table, and the group responded with an uplifting skiffle version, Holmes’s chicken-pickin’ country licks leading the way.

Growing up in Christchurch, Virginia, the two Holmes brothers sang in the church choir and listened to a lot of traditional Baptist hymns and spirituals. Wendell was also heavily influenced by such artists as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Jimmy Reed.

“Jimmy Reed is my man!” he declares. “I was crazy about ‘Honest I Do’ when that came out in 1954 or ‘5–way before your time. As simple as his playing was, I always liked his blues style, which was different. Even his harp-playing was different. And when I was a young man, I got a chance to do some things with him. So that’s one of the highlights of my life.”

Starting with their 1989 debut, the Holmes Brothers released four albums on the roots-oriented Rounder label before switching over to the blues-based Alligator Records, which issued the Joan Osborne–produced Speaking in Tongues in 2001.

“Everything evolves,” the straight-talking singer says of the label change. “We always go for the better deal, just like all capitalists do. You know how that goes.”

In recent years the Holmes Brothers have recorded songs for the TV series Crossing Jordan, appeared on CDs by Peter Gabriel and Norah Jones guitarist Adam Levy, and performed on four tracks of Shout, Sister, Shout!, a tribute to legendary gospel-blues shouter Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

The band is on a tour that brings it to the Yale Hotel on Thursday (January 15) for what the feisty Holmes describes as “a knockin’, rockin’, and sockin’ good time”. At an age when many folks set their sights on retirement, he’s just happy to be movin’ on down the line.

“You have to have that fire in the belly,” he says. “I’ll be 60 in two weeks, and I still have that fire in the belly. And my family loves for me to be gone, I guess. I’ve been married for 30 years, and when I stay home too long my wife says: ‘When are you goin’ back on the road?’ So I love it.”