Have we become clairvoyant at Musicfreakdom.com? that's a question only our audience could answer, for those of you old enough born in the 70's or before and beyond or who love music, you would know Roy C, the man we are featuring today on our blog just died on wednesday 16th September 2020. By the time we concluded our research on him, our plan was to feature another old school giant, little did we know he was going to die before our post on him is done. The beautiful thing about music is the Artist though dead continue to live on through their songs. Bob Marley is still living, so is Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and of course our own Fela Anikulapo Kuti just to mention a few. If you ever heard the lyrics..........., a man cant get no love, unless a woman helps him out..........., What would you do if you found another man in your bed?
Would you take a gun and shoot him down dead,.............
If you lived in the era I am talking about, you probably would have heard............I need somebody............. somebody to love me...........
These evergreen songs were done by the legendary Roy C.
Roy C ( image:Last Fm)
Born Charles Hammond another Southern Boy from Georgia, (they make soul legends in Georgia, on 3rd August 1939), Roy C was a soul Singer, Songwriter, Record producer and Music Executive, Like all other soul singers he started in a group and was singing tenor with a group called the Ginies, they got a record contract with a Producer called Bob Shad and they released a song called " Who's that knocking" in 1958 which got to no 72 on the Billboard chart. The group later moved on to Atlantic Records but their songs never got released. Roy C was later drafted to the Airforce.
Solo Career
Roy C returned to New York in 1965 as a solo Artist and released his album called
" Shotgun wedding" under the name Roy Hammond and on in his own label and later he released it to the market under the Black Hawk Label as Roy C. The Theme of the song was a little dangerous for the time, because this was the height of the Civil rights movement, the song went to number 14 on the Billboard charts and enjoyed greater success in Europe
Roy C ( image: Discogs)
Like it happens to most artists follow up albums to successful ones hardly ever measure up. Roy C teamed up with a man called J. Hines and they made a song "Got to get enough( of your sweet love stuff) " in 1971, Two years later he released another track " Don't Blame the Man" with Mercury Records and he later released the album for which I know him "Sex and Soul"
What a lot of people did not know is, aside the sweet soul Ballads Roy C released, he was somewhat of an activist and his activism did not let him last too long with record labels
an example of a political song, is "Great, Great grandson of a Slave" from his album " more Sex and Soul" Roy C was so opposed to the Vietnam war that he released a song called "Impeach the President" Which he produced with some High School Kids
A music journalist once described Roy C, "Roy Hammond is a driven artist—he cut this in his garage—and his compulsiveness comes out in the lyrics; despite convincing asides about racism and Vietnam, his title ought to be Infidelity and Suffering. The songs are raw and outspoken, and the suffering's in the voice even more than the words—he strains its paradoxically mellow limits sometimes,"
Other Tit Bits about Roy C
It was said in 1973, Roy C discovered a group of high school Students from Jamaica, Queens New York, named, The Honey Drippers, and he recorded a song with them called " Impeach the President" which was an allusion to the ongoing investigation of the "Watergate" scandal, which ultimately consumed President Richard Nixon.
The opening lines and beat of the song "Impeach the President" has been used by many Hip Hop/ Rap Artists like MC Shan, " The Bridge" By Wu Tang in the album "as high as Wu -Tang get",
In 1992 Aaron Fuchs President of Tuff City records, bought the rights to " impeach the President" and sued Deff Jam records for its use in the production of the albums of LL Kool Jay album, "Around the way girl" and " Give the People" by EPMD. Other Artist Like Janet Jackson also used parts of this great song on her album, " that's the way love goes", Roy C was not even aware of what was going on.
That's the way love goes album sleeve(image;Wikipedia)
Other artists that used Roy C's work include Shaggy and Even George Benson, Mary J Blige, Kanye West and Jay Z have used some bits of other Roy C songs.
Roy C continued releasing albums post 70,s and is credited with writing most of his songs produced on his record label Three Gems Records . He recorded a song with Dennis Edwards of the Temptations called " Talk to me" He also did a some gigs with Clarence Carter.
Dennis Edwards ( image: Pinterest)
Clarence Carter ( Image:Discogs)
There it is guys! Roy C is gone but his legacies live on. Many Thanks to Wikipedia, and all other media whose images we have used.
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