David Holloway was born in Gary and grew up in the heart of the city's midtown section. While growing up in Gary, he was nicknamed David "Ghetto Guitar" Holloway by a Garnett Elementary School classmate because he owned and learned how to play a second-hand guitar purchased from a local pawnshop. In Gary, he attended James Henry Garnett Elementary School, Beckman Jr. High school and he graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1976. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, he graduated from Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Indiana.