After Casablanca had been sold, Holmes moved to Columbia/CBS Records as Vice President of East Coast A&R and Executive Producer.
After signing a contract with Atlas Record, the high school buddies had several regional hits – Foolish Dreams, It Wasn’t a Lie, and I belong to You and performed the first of many shows at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
With his success developing strong relations with the disc jockeys at Black audience powerhouse radio stations WWRL and WLIB, Mercury Records recruited Holmes to be its East Coast Regional Manager of Promotions.
As Vice President of Buddah Records, Holmes signed the Impressions and curated an impressive roster of R&B acts, with million-sellers by the Edwin Hawkins Singers ("Oh Happy Day"), the Five Stairsteps ("Ooh Child"), and Gladys Knight & the Pips, whose Buddah debut Imagination (1973) marked a career resurgence with their chart-topping "Midnight Train to Georgia."
Holmes joined CBS Records, promoting top acts like Earth, Wind & Fire, Mtume, and Luther Vandross.