The Hollies
The Hollies were one of the most consistently popular groups of the beat era. Apart from their first release in May 1963, all of their singles during that period entered the British Top Twenty.1
The two founding members of the Hollies were encouraged to play music for a living the same way most postwar Brits did, through the skiffle craze of the late Fifties. As a group, the Hollies also got their start the same place the Beatles did — Liverpool’s Cavern Club, where childhood friends Graham Nash and Allan Clarke had assembled a band of fellow Lancashires.2
Allan Clarke (lead singer) and Graham Nash (vocals, guitar) had been friends since childhood in Manchester, and formed the nucleus of the Hollies in the early ’60s with bassist Eric Haydock. In early 1963, EMI producer Ron Richards signed the group after seeing them at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool.3
The best early Hollies records evoke an infectious, melodic cheer similar to that of early Beatles, although The Hollies were neither in the class (which is not an insult - nobody was) nor demonstrated a similar capacity for artistic growth. They tried easing into more sophisticated folk/rock and mildly psychedelic sounds as the decade wore on, especially on their albums (which contain quite a few overlooked highlights).4
Another thing you can do, which is going to take a moment on your part, is to send a letter to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Founndation, urging that The Hollies be inducted. As they do not have an email address for such endeavors, it will take a letter by regular (snail) mail.5