05/10/2026
SUMMERFEST STORIES PART IV
The Father of Rock n Roll Drumming. 2006 - Tennessee Three W.S âFlukeâ Holland
A long one, but one of my favourites.
In 2006, The Tennessee Three played both Friday and Saturday night. This was Johnny Cashâs legendary bandâtogether for nearly his entire career. The guitarist had changed over the years, but the drummer never did.
The day of a show usually follows a strict order: the headliner does their soundcheck first, and once theyâre done, nothing gets touchedâespecially the drum kit, which sits on a riser at the back of the stage and takes up a lot of space.
That day, Tom Cochrane did his soundcheck and headed back to the hotel. Next up was The Tennessee Three.
During Tomâs soundcheck, I found myself sitting backstage talking with their drummer, W.S. Holland. We had a great conversationâhe was incredibly humble for someone with such a rĂ©sumĂ©. I asked if he had always played with Johnny Cash.
âEvery tour, every album,â he said. âExcept the last one.â
I asked who else he had played with.
âWell,â he said casually, âI was Carl Perkinsâ drummer⊠and I played with Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley.â
I was stunned.
âI was the house drummer at Sun Studio,â he added. âPlayed with just about everyone who came through.â
He also mentioned he was the first drummer allowed to use a full kit at the Grand Ole Opry.
At that point, it hit meâI was talking to one of the people who helped define rock and roll drumming.
Our conversation wrapped up, and he headed to the stage for soundcheck. A few minutes later, he came back and said, âWeâve got a real hornetâs nest on the stage.â
Not being familiar with the expression, I thought he meant that literally.
He didnât.
There just wasnât enough room for his drum kitâTom Cochraneâs kit was taking most of the space.
He looked at it and said, âCanât I just use that one?â
How do you tell someone like that he canât use a drum kit? It felt like telling Wayne Gretzky he couldnât use your hockey stick.
He added, âI wonât move it much.â
So⊠I said yes.
I walked toward the sound booth and called Tom Cochraneâs road manager.
âHey, weâve got a bit of a situationâwe need to use your drum kit.â
âYou touch that F**** drum kit, weâre not playing.â
I told him we didnât really have a choice⊠and hung up.
Then I turned back toward the stage.
W.S. Holland already had the kit taken apart. Completely. He was left-handed.
I went to tell the sound guy, expecting another problem. He just laughed.
âDonât worry,â he said. âWeâll figure it out.â
And we did.
The show went on without a hitchâbut for a few minutes there, I was in full panic mode.
https://www.parklandsummerfest.com/stories/
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