ROCKABILLY ROYALTY W.S. HOLLAND
by Michael Buffalo Smith He was the only drummer Johnny Cash
ever wanted - or needed. For almost 40 years, W.S. “Fluke” Holland laid down the beat for Cash and the Tennessee Three, and later The Johnny Cash Show Band. Before that? He was drummer for Carl Perkins and played on a record called “Blue Suede Shoes.” Heard of the hit Broadway play Million Dollar Quar- tet? Well, Holland was there in the studio in Memphis when the accidental jam session that inspired the play actually happened - in fact, he was the drummer on that 1956 ses- sion. Remember the historic Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan sessions? Ditto. W.S. Holland is the man who brought drums into rock and roll - seriously. His career has been so huge, so vast, I had no idea as to where I would begin our interview. But once he got on the phone from his home in Jackson, Tennessee, any anxiety I may have had melted away, and we just talked. I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I was interviewing a man who was there at the actual birth of rock and roll. He even has baby pictures to prove it! Talking to Holland is stress free. He’s the nicest, soft spoken Southern man you could ever hope to speak with.
How did you get the nickname Fluke? (Laughs) Well, there’s a couple of different stories out there. One of ‘em says I got the name because of the fluke-like way things happened all during my career. Like borrow- ing a set of drums and going to Memphis with
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Carl Perkins to record, having never played before, my first time out I played on a record. And then getting with Johnny Cash for all those years. Some people would call that a fluke. But the real story is, I was a kid and I grew up in Bemis, Tennessee - right close to Jackson here. And back then there were fill- ing stations, which later became service sta- tions and then Mom and Pop stores. But I’d always hang around that fillin’ station, help- ing him put gas in cars and things like that. And for some reason, I don’t know why, I guess it was because I was a little smart aleck kid, I’d say “What is that flukus?” or “Let me see that flukus.” “Where’s you get that fluke?” And so the owner of the station, J.B. Nance got to where when he’d see me coming he’d say, “Well here comes Fluke.” But that name stuck with me all the way through high school and even today, more people around the world know me as Fluke than anything else. I guess you could say that’s one of the fluke things that happened to me. (Laughs) Ron Haney who does my website and everything else even had to put W.S. “Fluke” Holland on it so everybody would know.
How did you meet Carl Perkins and end up recording at Sun Records? I was just out of J.B. Young High school. I never though about playing music or being in a band. I was more mechanical minded. My Dad was a mechanic and a farmer. I already had me a good job working with an air condi- tioning business out of Jackson. Well, here’s another fluke thing. Carl Perkins and his fam-
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