Winston Sparkes (17 September 1940 – 31 January 2012), better known as King Stitt, was a Jamaican pioneer DJ.
He earned the nickname as a boy because of his stuttering and decided to use it as his stage name. Stitt began deejaying on Clement Dodd's Sir Coxsone's Downbeat Sound System in 1956.
Count Machuki, the original Jamaican deejay, noticed him for his dancing and offered him to try his hand on the mic. Stitt soon built his own deejay set, occasionally replacing him and eventually becoming one of the most popular deejays on the island's dances. He became King Stitt when he was crowned "king of the deejays" in 1963, in the heyday of ska.
Following the folding of Sir Coxsone's Downbeat's sound system around 1968 (as Coxsone preferred to concentrate on recordings), Stitt found himself working as a mason in Ocho Rios. He had been deejaying at the mic for over ten years when he was first recorded over brand new reggae rhythms in 1969, creating some of the first deejay records ever.
"Holly Holy" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond with instrumental backing provided by L.A. session musicians from The Wrecking Crew. Released as a single on October 13, 1969, it was quite successful as the follow-on to "Sweet Caroline", reaching number 6 on the U.S. pop singles chart by December. It became a gold record and then eventually platinum.
A work with a spiritual focus, "Holly Holy" was influenced by gospel music and was Diamond's favorite of the songs he had written to that point. It begins quietly with acoustic guitar against a bass line, with the sparse lyric stretched with elongated vowels. Gradually the arrangement builds up with a tempo shift in the bridge and a backing choir against strings lasting throughout.
"Holly Holy" was later included on Diamond's November 1969 album Touching You, Touching Me. It has been included in live versions on Diamond's Hot August Night (from 1972) and Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 (from 1992), as well as in various compilations.
Holly holy eyes
Dreams of only dreams
Well I am what I am
What I believe
Holly holy
Holly holy dreams
Wanting only you
Yes she comes
And I run just like the wind will
Holly holy
Sing, sing a song
Sing, sing a song of songs
Sing, sing it out loud
We'll sing a song
Let me hear you say, yeah, yeah, yeah
Call the sun in the dead of the night
And the sun will rise in the sky
Touch a man who can't walk upright
And the lame man will be alright
And I fly and I fly
Holly holy eyes
Wanting only you
And I see, will it be for everyone
Holly holy
Sing, sing a song
Sing, sing a song of songs
Sing, sing it out loud
We'll sing a song
Sing, sing a song
Sing, sing a song of songs
Sing, sing it out loud