W. S. Holland

Who is W. S. Holland?

W. S. "Fluke" Holland is a drummer who worked extensively with numerous rock and roll musicians, beginning with Carl Perkins, but became well known as the drummer in singer Johnny Cash's succession of backing bands: The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band. Holland played drums on the 1955 Sun Records recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" by Perkins, the song's writer and original performer.

Holland earned the nickname Fluke while working at a filling station. He would use "fluke" as a slang term to replace other nouns. For example, "look at that car," became "look at that fluke." The owner of the station began calling Holland "Fluke" and the nickname stuck. A common, yet understandable, misconception is that Holland earned the nickname "Fluke" because of his improbable entry into the music industry. At the time he made his first recording for Sun Records, he had played the drums just once before. A major break came with his performance on Perkins' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes". In the months to follow, Holland pioneered the use of drums in rock and roll music, well before Elvis Presley began touring with a drummer.