Roy Hamilton (April 16, 1929 – July 20, 1969) was an American singer. By combining semi-classical technique with

traditional black gospel Traditional Black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular mu ...

feeling, he brought

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...

singing. Hamilton's greatest commercial success came from 1954 through 1961, when he was

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

' most prolific artist.Dawson, Jim & Propes, Steve (2003). ''45 RPM: The History, Heroes & Villains of a Pop Music Revolution'' (1st ed.). San Francisco : Backbeat Books. p. 62. His two most influential

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

, "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...

" and "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...

", became Epic's first two number-one hits when they topped the

Billboard R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in March 1954 and May 1955, respectively. Hamilton became the first solo artist in the label's history to have a US top-ten pop hit when "Unchained Melody" peaked at No. 6 in May 1955.

Early life

Roy Hamilton was born in Leesburg,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to Evelyn and Albert Hamilton, where he began singing in church choirs at the age of six. In the summer of 1943, when Hamilton was fourteen, the family migrated north to

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in search of a better life. There, he sang with the Central Baptist Church Choir,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

's most famous African American church choir. At Lincoln High School, he studied

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

and was gifted enough to place his paintings with a number of New York City galleries.Cotten, Lee (1989). "Shake, Rattle & Roll: The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll Vol. 1 1952 – 1955” (1st ed.). Michigan: Pierian Press. p. 163. In February 1947, seventeen-year-old Hamilton took his first big step into secular music, winning a talent contest at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

. But nothing came of it. "I couldn't get a break," Hamilton recalled. "I really had nothing different to offer. They were seeking blues singers at the time, and I didn't know any blues at all." So, to support himself while he developed the different sound and singing style he wanted,Hentoff, Nat (February 9, 1955). Hamilton Booms From $5-A-Night Obscurity. "Down Beat", p. 2 Hamilton worked as an electronics technician during the day, and an amateur heavyweight boxer at night, with a record of six wins and one defeat. In 1948, Hamilton joined the Searchlight Gospel Singers and also studied light opera, working with New Jersey voice coach J. Martin Rolls for more than a year. Hamilton continued to perform gospel with the Searchlight Singers, in churches and at gospel concerts, until 1953 when the group broke up and each member went off in his own direction. Hamilton headed back into pop music. But this time, he felt he finally had something different to offer. In 1948, when Hamilton was 19, he married Corene Hamilton, with whom he had five children, Rodothas Jr., Allan, Carolyn, Charnette, and Tyrone. They divorced in 1960. Hamilton later married Myrna Hamilton, with whom he had 2 sons, Roy Jr. and Ray.

Music career

Epic beginning and career rise (1953–1956)

In mid-1953, Hamilton was discovered singing in a

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Cook was the first African American radio disc jockey and television personality on the East Coast.Grendysa, Peter (April 1979). Roy Hamilton Never Walking Alone. "Goldmine", p.9 Cook made a demo tape of Hamilton's singing and brought it to the attention of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Columbia was impressed enough to sign Hamilton to their rhythm and blues subsidiary,

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

. On November 11, 1953, Hamilton made his first recordings for the label in New York City. The session produced

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...

's "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

''.Grendysa, Peter (April 1979). Roy Hamilton Never Walking Alone. "Goldmine", p.13 The tune, one of the few secular numbers that Hamilton knew at the time, had been his live-performance specialty since 1947. But before it was released, Columbia had second thoughts and placed Hamilton with their newly-launched "pop" subsidiary label Epic. In the early 1950s, there were only two black male singers who were widely accepted by white audiences as mainstream pop stars:

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

. Epic saw that same kind of "crossover" star potential in Hamilton, placing a nearly full-page ad in the January 23, 1954 edition of Billboard magazine which read, "a great new voice makes news with a great song! Roy Hamilton, You’ll Never Walk Alone…" In spite of poor musical backing, Hamilton's performance on "Walk Alone" is sensational and is the primary reason why it topped the

for eight weeks and became a national US Top-30 hit. His follow-up single, "If I Loved You", was another Rodgers and Hammerstein tune from Carousel. Although not as big a hit for Hamilton as "Walk Alone", it still reached number four on the US R&B chart. On the evening of July 24, 1954, Hamilton appeared on the bill of "Star Night", a concert package at Chicago's Soldier Field starring

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

, Nat King Cole and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

. Since he was the newcomer on the bill, Hamilton was given the least amount of time to perform: six minutes, to perform two songs. Hamilton's plan was to perform "You'll Never Walk Alone", the only song he was known for at the time, and its bouncy b-side. But Perry Como squashed that plan when he announced during afternoon rehearsal that "Walk Alone" was going to be his closing number that night. Hamilton, forced into performing a "Walk Alone" replacement on the spot, decided on "Ebb Tide", a song that had been a hit for

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit " You're Breaking My Heart", an ...

a few months earlier—a song that Hamilton himself hadn't yet recorded. That evening, for his second and final number, Hamilton unveiled his gospel-tinged version of "Ebb Tide" before a Soldier Field audience of 82,000. By the time he had finished singing and exited the stage, all 82,000 people were on their feet, applauding, stomping and chanting for more. Changing in his dressing room, Hamilton had to be summoned back out on stage to quiet the crowd. He returned to the stage to witness that even some of his fellow performers—Nat Cole, Sarah Vaughan and orchestra leader

Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...

—had joined in the ovation. On July 28, four days after his "Star Night" triumph, Epic Records had Hamilton record, "Ebb Tide". It became his third straight hit. On Saturday night, September 11, 1954, Hamilton made his national television debut on CBS's ''

Stage Show A theatrical production is any work of theatre, such as a staged play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. Theatrical productions also extend to other performance designations such as Dramatic and Nondramatic theatre, a ...

'', hosted by big band leaders and brothers

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

. But the national television appearance that put Hamilton's career on the fast track to crossover success was the one he made on the night of March 6, 1955 when he sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" on CBS's top-rated ''

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

''. In reviewing his performance, Variety magazine summed up Hamilton's new way of singing the Great American Songbook by writing: "Hamilton made good with his single, 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which he endowed with the values of a spiritual." Ten days after the ''Sullivan Show'' appearance, Epic, in a rushed attempt to cover singer

Al Hibbler Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blue ...

's version of "

", set up a recording session for Hamilton. The resulting single was shipped within five days. Two months later, in the May 18, 1955 issue of

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

magazine, Hamilton was named "Vocalist of the Year". Meanwhile, in Billboard magazine's May 21, 1955 issue, Hamilton's gospel-tinged "Unchained Melody" had taken over the top spot on the R&B chart while, on the pop chart, it had reached the number six spot. It was the second number-one R&B hit of his career as well as the first, and only, top-ten US pop hit of his career. On the heels of his "Unchained Melody" success, Hamilton recorded the following

singles in succession:

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, Ot ...

' "

Without a Song "Without a Song" is a popular song composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics later added by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, published in 1929. It was included in the musical play, ''Great Day''. The play only ran for 36 performances but contained two s ...

" (#77 US pop),

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

's "Cuban Love Song", Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Everybody's Got a Home But Me" (#42 US pop), from the musical ''

Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...

'', and

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

's "Somebody Somewhere", from the musical ''

The Most Happy Fella ''The Most Happy Fella'' is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the 1924 play '' They Knew What They Wanted'' by Sidney Howard. The show i ...

.''

Retirement and comeback (1956–1962)

In mid-1956, Hamilton, developing what was described as a "lung condition" bordering on tuberculosis, announced an indefinite retirement from show business, citing both physical and mental exhaustion When he resumed his career over a year later, Hamilton could no longer generate hit singles performing pop standards because, overnight,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

had become the record industry's predominant commercial force. So, in late 1957, Epic coaxed Hamilton into recording "Don't Let Go", an R&B rocker produced by

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), "Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry Le ...

, the man who had written the two biggest number-one hits of Elvis Presley's career: "

Don't Be Cruel "Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956.Victor (2008), ''The Elvis Encyclopedia'', p.115-116 It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in '' Rol ...

" and "

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...

". By early 1958, "Don't Let Go" had become the second US top-15 pop hit of Hamilton's career and the first top-40 hit ever recorded in stereo. In 1959, Hamilton appeared, in a cameo role, in the Filipino motion picture produced by People's Pictures ''Hawaiian Boy'' where he sings "Unchained Melody". Hamilton's last

hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "

You Can Have Her "You Can Have Her" is a song written by Bill Cook. The song was a hit single for Roy Hamilton in 1961 and Sam Neely in 1974. It has also been recorded by many other artists, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Waylon Jennings, and Jim Ed Br ...

" (the song spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 12, while reaching No. 6 on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart.), came in 1961, and was followed by the album ''Mr. Rock And Soul'' (1962). The Epic label treated Hamilton as a major star and issued sixteen albums by him.

Later years (1963–1969)

By the mid-1960s, Hamilton's career declined while recording with

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and then

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. In January 1969, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, Hamilton made the final recordings of his career. The tracks were laid down at record producer

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums lik ...

's American Sound Studio, at the same time

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

was recording there. Songs released from those Hamilton sessions were cover versions of James Carr's "

The Dark End of the Street "The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song, written by songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr. History and original recording The song was co-written by Penn, a professional songwriter and producer, and Mo ...

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

's "

It's Only Make Believe "It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by drummer Jack Nance and Mississippi-born singer Conway Twitty, while both were touring across Ontario, Canada in 1958. The song was recorded on May 7 for MGM Records; produced by Jim Vienneau, it fe ...

", and "Angelica", a

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

song that had been submitted to Presley, but which he then turned over to Hamilton.

Death

In early July 1969, Hamilton suffered a massive

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

at his home in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

.Barbee, Bobbie (August 7, 1969). Singer Roy Hamilton To Make TV Debut On CBS. "Jet", p.57 He was taken to New Rochelle General Hospital where he lay in a coma for more than a week. On July 20, 1969, he was removed from life support and died. Hamilton was 40 years old. Some connected his earlier illness that caused his retirement to his death, although a connection was never proven. In a 2017 documentary for the BBC, Hamilton’s son Roy Hamilton Jr. revealed that

sent Roy's wife, Myrna, a rose every day Hamilton was in the hospital. When Hamilton passed away from complications of his stroke, Presley sent Myrna flowers for the following six months. At the time of his death, Hamilton was heavily in debt, forcing him, a week before he died, to borrow heavily on his insurance policy to pay off back taxes. This prompted his widow, Myrna, to publicly seek funds for his burial. Elvis Presley is said to have covered Hamilton’s outstanding medical bills and funeral costs. At Hamilton's funeral service, messages of condolence sent by Presley,

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

were read out to the mourners.

Legacy

Hamilton was inducted into the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...

in 2010. Hamilton was

' first star, giving the company its first number-one hit of any kind, "You'll Never Walk Alone", which topped the

for eight weeks in 1954. A year later, he gave the label its second number-one hit of any kind when his version of "Unchained Melody" topped the Billboard R&B chart for three weeks. Also, with "Unchained Melody", Hamilton became the first solo artist to deliver a top-ten pop hit for Epic. Hamilton was the singer who inspired

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, then a

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

star, to switch over to

secular music Non-religious secular music and sacred music were the two main genres of Western music during the Middle Ages and Renaissance era. The oldest written examples of secular music are songs with Latin lyrics.Grout, 1996, p. 60 However, many secular s ...

. Hamilton was also the one to whom Cooke first submitted his early pop-song compositions. Hamilton's distinctive sound was a big influence on Elvis Presley's ballad singing. As author Fred L. Worth noted, "Elvis greatly admired Hamilton's singing ability and style and performed a number of his ballads in Hamilton's style." Also,

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...

emulated Hamilton's style to create their

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

sound. This is particularly evident in the duo's cover versions of his hits "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Ebb Tide" and "Unchained Melody". Hamilton's "You'll Never Walk Alone" disc was brought in from the US by a sailor friend of

Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...

leader

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow b ...

. As a result, the band recorded a UK version of the song which became the anthem for

Liverpool Football Club Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

, sung by the crowd before every home game. The sailor friend noted that Marsden "puts very similar inflections into the song, trying to get it very similar to Roy Hamilton's version."

Discography

Singles

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Filmography

*1958: ''

Let's Rock ''Let's Rock'' (known as ''Keep It Cool'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1958 rock and roll film starring Julius LaRosa as a crooner attempting to fight off the rival music rock and roll, Phyllis Newman as his songwriting girlfriend who convinces ...

'', appeared as himself *1959: ''

Hawaiian Boy Hawaiian may refer to: * Native Hawaiians, the current term for the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants * Hawaii state residents, regardless of ancestry (only used outside of Hawaii) * Hawaiian language Historic uses * ...

'', appeared as himself. Drama, Musical

Television appearances

Bibliography

* Guralnick, Peter (1999): ''Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley'', Little, Brown and Company, London. * Guralnick, Peter (2005): ''Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke'', Little, Brown and Company, New York.

References

External links

The Official Roy Hamilton tribute site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Roy 1929 births 1969 deaths American rhythm and blues musicians Epic Records artists RCA Victor artists MGM Records artists People from Leesburg, Georgia Musicians from New Rochelle, New York Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American male singers