Roy Hamilton(1929-1969)

Roy Hamilton was born in Leesburg, Georgia, on April 16, 1929. His family moved to Jersey City, NJ, in 1943. He was an experienced gospel singer and one-time Golden Gloves boxer. He specialized in a mixture of pop, show and R&B tunes. He was signed by Columbia Records in 1953 after being discovered in a local club. He later signed with Columbia's subsidiary Epic Records. He had huge charted success with his first single "You'll Never Walk Alone". In 1955 he would have s chart-topping hit with what what would become one of the most recorded songs of all time, "Unchained Melody" (from the prison film Prisons sans chaînes (1955)). He also had success with "Don't Let Go" (1958), considered a rock standard (later reworked by Isaac Hayes); "You Can Have Her"; "Lips"; "A Great Romance"; "Time Marches On"; "If I Loved You" and "Hurt", among others. He appeared in the film Let's Rock (1958).