Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ROY C.

(b Roy Charles Hammond, 1943, NYC) Soul singer. He became Roy C. to avoid confusion with Ray Charles and Roy Hamilton. He was lead singer with The Genies early '60s; went solo when the group broke up and had an immediate hit with 'Shotgun Wedding', R&B chart only USA but a no. 6 pop hit UK '66, re-entered at no. 8 '72. He switched labels from Black Hawk to Shout, then started his own Alaga label '69; there was a series of singles about sex, 'Divorce Court', 'I Found A Man In My Bed', etc. the best seller 'Gotta Get Enough' '71. He wrote and produced Mark IV's hit 'Honey I Still Love You' for Mercury '72; signed to that label '73; repackaged his own Alaga cuts in album Sex And Soul, also moderately successful singles, LPs (e.g. More Sex And Soul '77). 'Shotgun Wedding' single was reissued in the UK '82, again in '83.