Volatile Attractions: Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash, and Managing a Music Legend
Holiff, who started out as a concert promoter in the late 1950s in London, Ontario, managed Cash from 1961-1973, by turns the most tumultuous and remarkable years of the singer’s career, and resigned at the pinnacle of Cash’s success. The Holiff Family fonds, held at the University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections, contains photographs, letters, audio recordings, diaries, and memorabilia that Holiff carefully accumulated during his career and preserved until the end of his life.
The exhibit is intended to be an extended biographical sketch of Saul Holiff. The title of the exhibit, Volatile Attractions, is named after Holiff's management company. He chose it as a reference to the unpredictability of the stock market, but it is also an apt way of describing his turbulent relationship with Cash, whom he managed for over a decade. To learn more about Holiff's life and career, enter the exhibit by clicking on the icons below. You can consult a timeline of Holiff's life, enter the main exhibit, or browse items from the collection such as letters, photographs, audio recordings, and video clips.