As a teen singing in a central New Jersey church choir, Roy Hamilton had aspirations of becoming a professional singer. In 1947, the seventeen-year-old won a talent contest held at the legendary Apollo Theater. However, as Roy lamented, he couldn’t get a break. “There were plenty of opportunities for blues singers,” he recalled, “but I didn’t know any blues songs.” While he developed his singing style, Roy worked as an electronics technician by day and a heavyweight boxer by night. He joined the Searchlight Gospel Singers, working with a vocal coach for over a year. When the group disbanded, Roy was ready to head into the world of pop music again — this time, with renewed confidence.
In 1953, 24 year-old Roy was singing at a Newark, New Jersey nightclub when he was approached by Bill Cook, the first African-American radio DJ on the East coast. Cook liked Roy’s singing and proposed becoming the young singer’s manager. Roy agreed and Cook sent a demo recording of Roy’s performance to Columbia Records. Executives at Columbia were impressed by what they heard and signed Roy to the Okeh label, their rhythm & blues subsidiary. Roy was brought into the studio, where he recorded “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel!, one of the few secular songs that was included in Roy’s live act. Just before its release, Columbia switched Roy to their pop Epic label, a bold move on their part. Epic’s only other African-American singers on the label were Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine. Columbia had faith that Roy would have the same appeal to white audiences. Their gamble paid off. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” topped the Billboard R&B charts for eight consecutive weeks and became a Top 30 hit on the national chart. His follow-up, “If I Loved You” (also from Carousel!), was not as successful nationally, but it did hit Number 4 on the R&B chart.
Riding the popularity wave, Roy was booked on the “Star Night” concert tour with headliners Perry Como, Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. As a newcomer, Roy was allotted just six minutes of stage time, enough to barely sing two songs. Obviously, he decided on his hit “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and its B-side “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You). ” However, at afternoon rehearsals for the show, Como announced that he’d be closing his set with “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Roy was crushed. Scrambling for a replacement song, he opted for “Ebb Tide,” a song that was a recent hit for Vic Damone. When Roy delivered “Ebb Tide” in his final three minutes on stage, he brought the entire crowd at Soldier Field — 82,000 people — to its feet, lavishing Roy with wild applause. Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and band leader Ray Anthony joined in, as well. Four days later, Roy recorded “Ebb Tide” and it became an instant hit.
In 1954, Roy made his network television debut on the Dorsey Brothers hosted variety show Stage Show. Six months later, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing his signature “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The performance was noted favorably in Variety, prompting Columbia to rush Roy into the studio to record, mix and release “Unchained Melody” in an unheard-of two weeks. It reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s national chart. As a result, Down Beat Magazine named Roy “1955 Vocalist of the Year.” Roy recorded a succession of show tunes to continued acclaim.
In 1956, Roy announced his retirement from show business, citing an unnamed “lung condition,” which may have been tuberculosis. A year later, he was ready to make a comeback. However, music tastes had changed and rock & roll was the popular trend. Although not keen on the idea, Roy was coaxed into recording “Don’t Let Go” for influential producer Otis Blackwell. The single was the first Top 40 hit recorded in stereo and it became Roy’s Top 15 hit of his career.
The 1960s saw Roy’s career decline. His recordings no longer charted and his health was failing. In July 1969, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and remained in a coma for a week. The difficult decision to remove life support was made and Roy passed away on July 20, 1969 at the age of 40.
Roy was cited as an inspiration by Sam Cooke, who had submitted songs to Roy early in his career. The Righteous Brothers patterned their cover of “Unchained Melody” after Roy’s vocal style. Gerry Marsden also tried to capture Roy’s inflection in the Gerry & The Pacemakers’ take on “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”