James Steven "Jimmy Soul" Holvay (born May 16, 1945) is the American rock singer-songwriter and musician who wrote "Kind of a Drag",[1] a number one hit for The Buckinghams.

[4] In his early years, while attending St. Barbara School in Brookfield, Jim's brother, Dennis, brought home the 78 rpm record of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley And His Comets, which accelerated Holvay's interest in music.

A couple years of guitar lessons plus a recording session featuring two blues-progression instrumentals, Holvay entered Lyons Township High School as a freshman in 1959.

WLS Program Director Clark Weber suggested the group should be called The Livers (referring to Liverpool) and the record charted on the Silver Dollar Survey in early 1964.

After tours playing ballrooms throughout the Midwest backing up Terry Stafford, Chubby Checker, Nino Tempo & April Stevens - the group moved to San Francisco.

Then, they worked clubs in North Beach (pre-"Monterey") alongside Sly Stewart & his Mojo Men, The Beau Brummels, Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Gauchos, and The Nooney Rickett 4.

Holvay worked as a permanent guitarist on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour, criss-crossed the US and Canada in Greyhound buses and backed-up artists.

The Association flew back home to Los Angeles and told Capitol Records that they need to sign this great band which they had just seen in Chicago.

After that session, The MOB flew back home to continue residency at The Wine and Roses and waited to hear what the verdict was on our newly created horn rock sound.

Holvay first met Bonafede at a Jim Lounsbury record hop, the Willowbrook Ballroom, while Carl was singing with the Gem-Tones back in 1960.

"I was dinking around on a spinet piano in a music practice room at Lyons Township Junior College and wrote Kind of a Drag.

[8] Later Carl with a Wollensak tape recorder, found Holvay at a club where, in the dressing room, he played his "pop genre" tune on an acoustic guitar.

October 2010, Don Fritz, President of the South Dakota Rock & Roll Music Association informed that The MOB was selected under the category "bands".

Inducted April 16, 2011, at the Ramkota Exhibit Hall in Sioux Falls, SD more than 2,000 people in attendance saw and heard The MOB in person, their first reunion in 35 years.

[12] Waldman co-wrote the 1998 book Land Of A Thousand Dances: Chicano Rock 'N' Roll From Southern California with David Reyes.

Holvay worked with David Reyes, Rudy Salas and Tom Waldman resulting in the soundtrack for Eastside Heartbeats-The Musical.