Where Elvis Presley REALLY Got His Voice, Appropriation of Black Music & Musicians

About Roy Hamilton was an American singer. By combining semi-classical technique with traditional black gospel feeling, he brought soul to Great American Songbook singing. Hamilton’s greatest commercial success came from 1954 through 1961, when he was Epic Records’ most prolific artist. His two most influential recordings, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Unchained Melody”, became Epic’s first two number-one hits when they topped the Billboard R&B chart 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. In early July 1969, Hamilton suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage at his home in New Rochelle, New York. 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