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Artist
Roy Hamilton
12+ albums
soulnorthern soulRock and Rolloldiesamerican
about
Roy Hamilton (b. April 16, 1929, Leesburg, Georgia – d. July 20, 1969, New Rochelle, New York) was an American singer who achieved major success in both the R&B and pop charts in the 1950s. He moved to Jersey City in 1943, studied commercial art, had operatic and classical voice training, and was a heavyweight Golden Gloves boxer, before joining gospel quartet The Searchlight Singers. In 1947 he entered and won an amateur talent show at the Apollo Theater with his dramatic rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical "Carousel". However, he did not record commercially until 1953, after he was discovered singing in a New Jersey club by local DJ Bill Cook, who became his manager. Columbia Records saw him as a possible "crossover" singer with a foothold in both pop and R&B , and signed him to their subsidiary label Epic. His first single, "You'll Never Walk Alone", became an R&B number 1 for eight weeks, and a national US Top 30 hit in 1954, and shot Hamilton to fame. He followed up with a string of singles that reached both R&B and pop audiences, many of which were popular show tunes of the day. These included "If I Loved You" (# 4 R&B), "Ebb Tide" (# 5 R&B), "Hurt" (# 8 R&B), "Unchained Melody" (# 1 R&B, # 6 pop), and "Don’t Let Go" (# 2 R&B, # 13 pop). His style and sound directly influenced later artists such as Jackie Wilson and the Righteous Brothers. In mid 1956 Hamilton announced his retirement due to illness and exhaustion, but returned the following year.
