Between those projects, Holmes, who had landed a recording contract with Polydor, went to Nashville to record an album called "Jake Holmes". That was followed by the most successful solo album of his career, "So Close, So Very Far to Go". Released by Polydor in 1970, it reached No. 135 on the "Billboard" album chart, and the single "So Close" rose to No. 49 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100. (In the edition of December 19, 1970, of "American Top 40", Casey Kasem erroneously played "So Close" at No. 39.) In 1970, Lena Horne sang Holmes' "It's Always Somewhere Else" on a TV special made with Harry Belafonte, and released on the album "Harry & Lena". Belafonte commenced recording Holmes' songs on "The Warm Touch" (1971), followed by "Play Me" (the song "So Close", 1973), and "Loving You Is Where I Belong" (1981), culminating in a whole album, 1988's "Paradise in Gazankulu". These were followed by the live recordings "Belafonte '89" and "An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends" (1997). In 1977, "So Close" became the title song of an album by Helen Schneider, a popular New York nightclub singer.