He moved to Jersey City in 1943, studied commercial art, had operatic and classical voice training, and was a heavyweight Golden Gloves boxer, before joining gospel quartet The Searchlight Singers. In 1947 he entered and won an amateur talent show at the Apollo Theater with his dramatic rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical "Carousel". However, he did not record commercially until 1953, after he was discovered singing in a New Jersey club by local DJ Bill Cook, who became his manager. Columbia Records saw him as a possible "crossover" singer with a foothold in both pop and R&B , and signed him to their subsidiary label Epic. His first single, "You'll Never Walk Alone", became an R&B number 1 for eight weeks, and a national US Top 30 hit in 1954, and shot Hamilton to fame.
He followed up with a string of singles that reached both R&B and pop audiences, many of which were popular show tunes of the day. These included "If I Loved You" (# 4 R&B), "Ebb Tide" (# 5 R&B), "Hurt" (# 8 R&B), "Unchained Melody" (# 1 R&B, # 6 pop), and "Don’t Let Go" (# 2 R&B, # 13 pop). His style and sound directly influenced later artists such as Jackie Wilson and the Righteous Brothers.
In mid 1956 Hamilton announced his retirement due to illness and exhaustion, but returned the following year. When he came back he had adopted the harder gospel sound of his youth to compete with rock 'n' roll and the emerging soul sound, appearing in the movie "Let's Rock" in 1958. His last hit record, "You Can Have Her" (# 6 R&B, # 12 pop) came in 1961, and was followed by the album Mr. Rock And Soul in 1962. The Epic label treated Hamilton as a major star and issued 16 albums by him. However, in the mid 1960s his career declined while recording with MGM and then RCA Records.
His final recordings were made in Memphis at producer Chips Moman's American Group Productions studio, at the same time that Elvis Presley recorded there, in early 1969. Songs released from those sessions were versions of James Carr's "The Dark End of the Street", Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe", and "Angelica", a Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil song that had been submitted to Presley, but which he then turned over to Hamilton.
He died later in 1969 not long after suffering a stroke, aged 40
Cuban Love Song
Roy Hamilton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While every breeze is playing our Cuban love song
I love you for all the joy you brought me
The lovely night you taught me our Cuban love song
One melody will always thrill my heart
One kiss will cheer me when we're far apart
(Dear one) I love you with such a tender passion
and only you could fashion our Cuban love Song
I love you that's what my heart is saying
While every breeze is playing our Cuban love song
I love you for all the joy you brought me
The lovely night you taught me our Cuban love song
One melody will always thrill my heart
One kiss will cheer me when we're far apart
(Dear one) I love you with such a tender passion
The lyrics of Roy Hamilton's Cuban Love Song convey a romantic and timeless message. The singer professes his deep and genuine love for his partner through the recurring theme of music. The melody of the Cuban Love Song brings back precious memories and transports the singer to a time when he first fell in love. The lyrics evoke a longing for the presence of his partner and the comfort and reassurance that their love brings.
The lyrics reinforce the idea that music can provide solace and comfort in times of separation and loss. The words "one melody will always thrill my heart" and "one kiss will cheer me when we're far apart" suggest that music and memories can fill the void left by physical distance. The singer's declaration of love and loyalty is heartfelt, and it shows that a love that is grounded on shared experiences and memories can stand the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
I love you that's what my heart is saying
My heart is filled with love for you, and I can't help but express it.
While every breeze is playing our Cuban love song
The wind seems to carry the notes of our special song wherever I go, reminding me of you.
I love you for all the joy you brought me
Your presence in my life has brought me great happiness that I cherish deeply.
The lovely night you taught me our Cuban love song
The night we spent together was magical, and it was when you taught me the song that now holds a special place in our hearts.
One melody will always thrill my heart
Our Cuban love song is so beautiful and special that it will always have the power to make my heart skip a beat.
One kiss will cheer me when we're far apart
One simple kiss from you is enough to lift my spirits and make me feel better, even when we are physically distant.
(Dear one) I love you with such a tender passion
My love for you is incredibly strong and filled with a gentle, caring affection that runs deep.
and only you could fashion our Cuban love Song
The love we share is unique and could only be the inspiration for a song as beautiful as ours.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOROTHY FIELDS, HERBERT STOTHART, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jacquile Johnson
Timestamps:
0:00 Without A Song
2:48 Cuban Love Song
5:22 Trees (the audio cuts out for a few secs)
8:04 A Little Voice
10:24 Misty Valley
12:51 Take Me With You
15:17 Since I Fell For You
17:55 All This Is Mine
20:40 If You Are But A Dream
22:53 My Own Beloved
25:29 If Each One Would Teach One
27:39 Because
Eclm Clm
- beautiful album ! Thanks for posting !
Jacquile Johnson
Thank you so much for posting this, I haven’t heard this in a while and the video that was up for "Since I Fell For You" was removed a while ago
Jay Smith
Love this!
Ray Manbert
Roy.Hamilton.was incredible!! Great vice.znd died far too.young!! Too bad this record is not pristine!! Still good!!
Robert Anderson
what a Heavenly voice
Johnnie Jenkins
This guy is amazing
Robert Anderson
May Heaven give that Voice to me
Lieutenant Dunbar
look like elvis stole a lot of things
Jacquile Johnson
Timestamps:
0:00 Without A Song
2:48 Cuban Love Song
5:22 Trees (the audio cuts out for a few secs)
8:04 A Little Voice
10:24 Misty Valley
12:51 Take Me With You
15:17 Since I Fell For You
17:55 All This Is Mine
20:40 If You Are But A Dream
22:53 My Own Beloved
25:29 If Each One Would Teach One
27:39 Because
jason griffin
Elivs Presley stole this man sound