Holly Cole
A jazz innovator who treats the Great American Songbook as a living document, reinventing standards with a cool, cinematic, and deeply personal touch.
Born 1963 (age 63)·Canadian jazz singer·Birthday: November 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Holly Cole approaches a song like a master sculptor, chipping away at the familiar to reveal startling new shapes and shadows. Emerging from the Toronto jazz scene in the late 80s with her eponymous Trio, she distinguished herself with a voice that was both intimate and detached, a hypnotic contralto that could swing from irony to aching vulnerability in a phrase. Her albums are carefully curated worlds, where a Tom Waits ballad sits comfortably beside a show tune, all unified by her minimalist, atmospheric arrangements. Cole isn't a purist; she’s a stylist and a storyteller, using her jazz foundation to explore pop, blues, and cabaret, making each cover definitively her own. Her lasting impact is in proving that interpretation can be as creative and bold as original composition.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Holly was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Holly Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Holly's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Her 1993 album 'Don't Smoke in Bed' became a platinum-selling hit in Canada and a cult classic internationally.
- Achieved mainstream success with a sultry, slow-burn cover of "I Can See Clearly Now," which became a radio hit.
- Released a series of critically acclaimed thematic albums, including 'Temptation', a full-length tribute to Tom Waits.
- Performed and recorded with the Holly Cole Trio for over a decade, defining a signature sound.
Did You Know?
She is the sister of musician and singer-songwriter Andrew Cole.
She studied piano and voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Her version of "I Can See Clearly Now" was featured prominently in the film 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'.
She has acted in several Canadian television and film productions.
“I'm not a jazz singer. I'm a singer who loves jazz, among other things.”
