Dotti Holmberg

Vocalist and songwriter Dotti Holmberg was a player in the sunshine pop movement of the 1960s, singing backup on songs by Tommy Roe, Bobby Jameson, and others, along with recording several sweetly optimistic and bright songs of her own with ex-bandmate and sunshine pop figurehead Curt Boettcher. For reasons related to music industry red tape, Holmberg's originals never saw the light of day in the time when she was most active; however, they were unearthed for the archival compilation Sometimes Happy Times, first as a CD release on the Sundazed label in 2002, and then revisited more than 20 years later with new bonus tracks and a first-time vinyl pressing. Holmberg was born in Los Angeles but spent most of her early childhood in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. She and her sister Sheri formed a coffeehouse singing group called the Keynotes, who changed their name to the Goldebriars in 1963 with the addition of new member Curt Boettcher. The band broke up after releasing two albums for Epic in 1964, but Holmberg reconnected with Boettcher a few years later, after he'd established himself as a songwriter, producer, and general go-to talent for AM pop by playing a role in crafting huge hits for the Association and Tommy Roe. Along with getting Holmberg involved as a backup singer on various sessions, Boettcher recorded several songs with her as a lead artist for his fledgling label Our Productions, including two of her original compositions. The sessions were recorded at Columbia Records' Hollywood studios, and the backing band included Wrecking Crew member Toxey French among other great musicians. Before the recordings materialized, however, Our Productions went under and Holmberg's songs were left in the vaults. Beginning in the '70s, she relocated to Lakeland, Florida, and turned her creative energies toward children's music, composing songs about peer pressure and other issues faced by young people, and working with youth music groups. In 2002, a collection of unreleased Goldebriars material, demo recordings, and otherwise unheard Dotti Holmberg-related tracks were compiled by the Sundazed label for the archival compilation Sometimes Happy Times. In 2023, the set was issued once more, this time in its first vinyl run, as well as an expanded CD release that included four additional bonus tracks from Dotti's brother Gary.
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