Major Holley

Holley was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Holley played violin and tuba when young. He started playing bass while serving in the Navy, playing in the Ships Company A Band at Camp Robert Smalls, which was led by Leonard Bowden and included Clark Terry, and several other musicians recruited from civilian dance bands.In the latter half of the 1940s, he played with Dexter Gordon