Roy C
Encyclopedia
Roy C (born Roy Charles Hammond, 1939), is an American
southern soul
singer
, songwriter
and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit
, "Shotgun Wedding".
. He began singing tenor
with The Genies, a vocal group in Long Beach
, Long Island
, who were offered a recording contract
by the record producer
, Bob Shad
. Their first single
, "Who's That Knockin'", reached #72 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
in 1958, with Claude Johnson (later of the duo
Don and Juan
) on lead vocal. The group then moved to Atlantic Records
, with Hammond taking over as lead singer, but their recordings
were not released, and he was drafted into the Air Force
.
When he returned to New York
in 1965, Hammond organised a studio
session to record his own song
, "Shotgun Wedding", and released it under the name of Roy Hammond on his own Hammond label
, before leasing it to the larger Black Hawk Records under the name Roy C. The record
, with its novelty ricochet opening and relatively risqué subject matter for the time, reached #14 on the national R&B
chart. It had even greater success when issued in the UK
, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart
in 1966 and #8 when reissued in 1972. His first album was That Shotgun Wedding Man (1966) on Ember Records. Ironically, the multiple sound effects used are not those of a shot-gun blast, but rather of ricochet bullets from a rifle
or pistol
.
After some unsuccessful follow-ups on the Shout label, Hammond started another new label, Alaga. Working with guitarist
J. Hines, he had more success with "Got To Get Enough (Of Your Sweet Love Stuff)" making the R&B charts in 1971. Two years later he signed with Mercury Records
, and had another R&B hit with "Don't Blame The Man". He also released an album
, Sex and Soul, and several more minor hit singles. He stayed with Mercury for several years, until label bosses took exception to his outspoken political stance in songs, like "Great Great Grandson of A Slave".
Since 1979 he has continued to release a string of soul singles and albums, on his own Three Gems record label
, initially based in New York
and later in Allendale
, South Carolina
. Hammond composed most of his recordings
and has more than 125 titles to his credit. He recorded an album by ex-Temptation
Dennis Edwards
entitled Talk to Me, and also worked on a CD
by Bobby Stringer. Hammond also runs his own record shop
in Allendale, called Carolina Record Distributors.
"Infidelity, Georgia," also known as "Save by the Bell" or "Saved by the Bell," is a song about sexual infidelity in small town Georgia.
In 1998, Shaggy sampled
Roy C's "Love Me, Love Me" on the soundtrack
of the movie
, How Stella Got Her Groove Back
. Equally, Hammond released an album entitled Stella Lost Her Groove in March 1999.
There is currently a documentary
being made about Roy C. It is titled Roy C. Forever. For more information on the film
visit:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
southern soul
Southern soul
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues , country, early rock and roll, and a strong gospel influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern African-American churches. The focus of the...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, "Shotgun Wedding".
Career
Roy C was born in Newington, GeorgiaNewington, Georgia
Newington is a town in Screven County, Georgia, United States. The population was 322 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Newington is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
. He began singing tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
with The Genies, a vocal group in Long Beach
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, who were offered a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
by the record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Bob Shad
Bob Shad
Bob Shad was an American music producer and record label owner. He produced the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company...
. Their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Who's That Knockin'", reached #72 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in 1958, with Claude Johnson (later of the duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
Don and Juan
Don and Juan
Don and Juan were an R&B vocal duo from Brooklyn, NY, consisting of Roland "Don" Trone and Claude "Juan" Johnson. Johnson had previously sung with a doo-wop group called the Genies, who reached #71 on the Billboard pop charts in 1959 with "Who's That Knockin'" on the Shad label...
) on lead vocal. The group then moved to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, with Hammond taking over as lead singer, but their recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
were not released, and he was drafted into the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
When he returned to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1965, Hammond organised a studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
session to record his own song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Shotgun Wedding", and released it under the name of Roy Hammond on his own Hammond label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, before leasing it to the larger Black Hawk Records under the name Roy C. The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, with its novelty ricochet opening and relatively risqué subject matter for the time, reached #14 on the national R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. It had even greater success when issued in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1966 and #8 when reissued in 1972. His first album was That Shotgun Wedding Man (1966) on Ember Records. Ironically, the multiple sound effects used are not those of a shot-gun blast, but rather of ricochet bullets from a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
or pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
.
After some unsuccessful follow-ups on the Shout label, Hammond started another new label, Alaga. Working with guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
J. Hines, he had more success with "Got To Get Enough (Of Your Sweet Love Stuff)" making the R&B charts in 1971. Two years later he signed with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, and had another R&B hit with "Don't Blame The Man". He also released an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Sex and Soul, and several more minor hit singles. He stayed with Mercury for several years, until label bosses took exception to his outspoken political stance in songs, like "Great Great Grandson of A Slave".
Since 1979 he has continued to release a string of soul singles and albums, on his own Three Gems record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, initially based in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and later in Allendale
Allendale, South Carolina
Allendale is a town in Allendale County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Allendale County.-Geography:...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Hammond composed most of his recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and has more than 125 titles to his credit. He recorded an album by ex-Temptation
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards is a soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers replacing David Ruffin. He is the father of Issa Pointer, whose mother is Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters.-Career:...
entitled Talk to Me, and also worked on a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Bobby Stringer. Hammond also runs his own record shop
Record shop
A record shop or record store is an outlet that sells recorded music. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact discs and home video recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record...
in Allendale, called Carolina Record Distributors.
"Infidelity, Georgia," also known as "Save by the Bell" or "Saved by the Bell," is a song about sexual infidelity in small town Georgia.
In 1998, Shaggy sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Roy C's "Love Me, Love Me" on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, How Stella Got Her Groove Back
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 romance film, directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg and Regina King. This film is an adaptation of Terry McMillan's bestselling novel by the same title...
. Equally, Hammond released an album entitled Stella Lost Her Groove in March 1999.
There is currently a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
being made about Roy C. It is titled Roy C. Forever. For more information on the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
visit:
External links
- [ Roy C biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
- The complete Roy C discography at Soul Express
- Shotgun Wedding Vinyl at Glasgow Mods