Born Rodothas Hamilton in Leesburg, Georgia on April 16, 1929, Roy Hamilton was a singer best known for his two R&B chart toppers “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (1954) and “Unchained Melody” (1955) and for being one of Elvis Presley’s greatest influences. Seamlessly blending pop, showtunes, jazz, and gospel, Roy Hamilton created a style that was uniquely his own. After his family moved to New Jersey while he was in his teens, he began singing in a gospel choir while also pursuing commercial art in high school. At the age of 17, he won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater but could not use that win to gain any momentum into the music industry. Instead, Roy Hamilton pursued an amateur boxing career while also performing with gospel group the Searchlight Singers. The group split in 1953, and he chose to continue performing secular pop music. Discovered in a Newark, New Jersey nightclub by radio DJ and TV host Bill Cook, Roy Hamilton was signed to Columbia Records’ subsidiary label Okeh Records. One of his first recordings was a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which Columbia decided to release on their Epic Records label. Instead of competing with fellow R&B artists, the label decided that Roy Hamilton should be competing with fellow black pop singers Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine. The gamble paid off and the single topped the R&B Singles chart in the US in 1954. His next single, “If I Loved You” (another Rodgers and Hammerstein song), reached number 4. After performing a version of “Ebb Tide” to a rapturous response from an audience of 82,000 people in Chicago on in July 1954, the song was quickly recorded and became his third hit single. Two months later, he was rushed into the studio to record a cover of “Unchained Melody,” which was shipped within five days and reached the top of the R&B Singles chart. Several singles followed, but only “Forgive This Fool” made the Top 10. In 1956, Roy Hamilton became very ill with a lung condition and, citing physical and mental exhaustion, had to take a hiatus from performing and recording. Although he only took one year off, it destroyed his commercial momentum although he scored four more hits:1957’s “So Long” (number 14), 1958’s “Don’t Let Go” (number 2), 1959’s “I Need Your Lovin’” (number 14), and 1961’s “You Can Have Her” (number 6). By the end of the 1960s, Roy Hamilton’s career was at its lowest. His final studio recordings were taped at American Sound Studio at the same time Elvis Presley was recording his legendary sessions there. Elvis then gave Roy Hamilton three of the songs he had been offered. In July of that year, Roy Hamilton suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma. He died a week later – July 20, 1969 – at the age of 40. While often overlooked, Roy Hamilton was a huge influence on not only Elvis but also Sam Cook, the Righteous Brothers, and many other performers that followed in his wake.
