Roy Head | |
|---|---|
 Roy Kent Head and the Traits | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roy Kent Head |
| Born | (1941-01-09)January 9, 1941 Three Rivers, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 21, 2020(2020-09-21) (aged 79) Porter, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Blue-eyed soul,country,Rhythm and blues,rock and roll,rockabilly |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1958–2019 |
| Labels | Back Beat |
Roy Kent Head (January 9, 1941 – September 21, 2020) was an American singer, best known for his hit song "Treat Her Right".[1]
Head and fellow high school student Tommy Bolton founded musical group The Traits in 1957, with the band, billed asRoy Head and the Traits, scoring the international hit "Treat Her Right" in 1965. Head later enjoyed a successful solo career with several hits on thecountry and western charts between 1975 and 1985. During his career of some 50 years, Head performed in several different musical genres and recorded for an array of record labels, some too small to provide national marketing and distribution. Roy Head and the Traits held reunions in 2001 and 2007 and were inducted into theRockabilly Hall of Fame in 2007.
Roy Kent Head was born inThree Rivers, Texas in 1941 and moved toSan Marcos in 1955. In 1957 at the age of 16, Head – along with San Marcos native Tommy Bolton – formed a musical group known as The Traits (aka 'Roy Head and The Traits') who would perform and record for the next nine years. The original group consisted of fellow high school students Head (vocals), Bolton (rhythm guitar) (1941–2003), Gerry Gibson (drums), Dan Buie (piano), Clyde Causey (lead guitar), and Bill Pennington (bass). When Causey joined the military, he was replaced by George Frazier (1941–1996) just before the band started their recording career at the Tanner N Texas (TNT) Recording Company, owned by Bob Tanner and located inSan Antonio.[2] The Traits had several regional hits at TNT, with songs such as "One More Time", "Live It Up", both released in 1959, and "Summertime Love" (1960),[3] establishing themselves in the late 1950s and the early 1960s as one of the premier teenage Texas-basedrock and roll bands while playing the concert,sock hop, college and university anddance hall circuits throughout Texas. During this period, the parents of The Traits turned downDick Clark's invitation for the boys to appear onAmerican Bandstand, whichABC had started broadcasting nationwide fromPhiladelphia in 1957. At the time, all members of The Traits were minors, and some were still in high school.[4]
In 1961 and 1962, The Traits added saxophonists David McCumber and Danny Gomez to the line-up and produced additional Texas/regional hits from Renner Records, a label owned by Jessie Schneider of San Antonio. Renner label No. 221 and Ascot No. 2108, a subsidiary ofUnited Artists Records, distributed The Traits' version ofRay Sharpe's 1959 "Linda Lu", with "Little Mama" by Dan Buie and Head on theB-side. Renner Records also released The Traits "Got My Mojo Working" and "Woe Woe" on label No. 229.[5] By the time the 1962 recordings were taped and mastered at Jeff Smith's Texas Sound Studio in San Antonio for the Renner label, Johnny Clark and Frank Miller had replaced Frazier and Bolton at lead and rhythm guitars, respectively.
After attending Southwest Texas State Teachers College (know known as Texas State University or TXST)[6] for two years, Buie, who played guitar and harmonica as well as keyboards, taught for several years before settling into public health administration, after receiving his baccalaureate degree and doing post graduate studies at The University of Texas. Tommy Bolton organized and played with other Central Texas musical groups while both he and Clyde Causey launched careers with the Department of the Treasury. Danny Gomez graduated from TXST and later earned his doctorate at Texas Tech University inLubbock. David McCumber pursued his love of music at Sound Master's studio in Houston and then opened a real estate company in Austin. He ran the company until his retirement where he enjoyed travel with his wife Sandra until her death frommelanoma cancer in 2005. George Frazier pursued real estate investment interests, and Bill Pennington followed in his mother's footsteps and become a successful owner of Pennington Funeral Home inSan Marcos. Only Head and Gibson would continue with careers in performing music. The songwriting talents, and subsequent recording successes, of The (original) Traits during their first five years on a regional level were under the watchful eyes of Ms. Edra Pennington (1913–2005)[7] and Dr. T.R. Buie (1909–2000),[8] which would lay the groundwork for what would happen in the group's last four years.[9]
Roy Head and the Traits signed withScepter Records in 1964. Scepter had developed a nationwide network of independent distributors while working withThe Shirelles.[10] By this time, Gene Kurtz had replaced Pennington at bass, Kenny Williams had replaced Clark at lead guitar, Ronnie Barton's trumpet was added to the mix, and backup singer Sarah Fulcher started performing with the group. Roy Head and the Traits released a vinyl 45 featuring the vocals of Head and Fulcher on the Lori label No. 9551: "Get Back" (later released on Scepter No. 12124) with "You'll Never Make Me Blue" (re-released as "Treat Me Right").[11]
In 1965, the band signed with the record producerHuey Meaux[12] ofHouston, who maintained a stable of record labels. "Treat Her Right" was recorded atGold Star Studios in Houston.[13] Issued on Don Robey'sBack Beat label,[14] it reached No. 2 on both the U.S. Pop andR&B charts in 1965,[15] behindThe Beatles' "Yesterday". "Treat Her Right", with its blazing horns and punchy rhythm,[16] credited to Head and bass man Gene Kurtz,[17] established Head as a prime exponent ofblue-eyed soul.[9] By 1995, "Treat Her Right" had beencovered by 20 nationally known recording artists includingJimmy Page,Bruce Springsteen,Jerry Lee Lewis,Sawyer Brown,Bon Jovi and bothMae West andBarbara Mandrell (under the title of "Treat Him Right)".[18]Bob Dylan,Sammy Davis Jr. andTom Jones[19] covered it "live". Roy Head and the Traits' "Just a Little Bit" and the bluesy rockabilly hybrid "Apple of My Eye" also cracked the Top 40 in 1965. Along with Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" andSteve Cropper's "In the Midnight Hour", in the successful 1991 motion picture,The Commitments.[9] "Treat Her Right" also appeared inQuentin Tarantino's 2019 filmOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.[20]It was also recorded in 1988 byGeorge Thorogood and the Destroyers and released the same year as a music video in which Head had an acting cameo and danced in the final chorus.[21]"Come To Me" and "Now You See Em, Now You Don't" both in 1977 and recorded on theABC/Dot label reached No. 16 and No. 19, respectively.[22]
In 1965 TNT Records released the group's first "album" consisting of their music recorded for TNT and Renner Records, TLP No. 101 entitledRoy Head and the Traits, which was also distributed by the New York-based Scepter Records. Goldmine Album Price Guide offers a 'counterfeit caution' when buying this album. The original from TNT did not include the song "Treat Her Right", although it is included in the more widely distributed Scepter pressing. The "counterfeit" album is also attributed to TNT, but with blue lettering on the label rather than the TNT red.[23]
Video clips from this time period show Head to have been a dynamic and versatile eccentric dancer; there are at least three extant clips of him performing "Treat Her Right" and each one is different from the others in terms of choreography.[24] His jumps and slides have compared to those ofNicholas Brothers. Because he was white, but his footwork included moves popular among African American gymnastic dancers, he was sometimes said to be a practitioner of "blue-eyed soul".[25]
Thechart-makers recorded and released on the Back Beat and Scepter labels spelled the end of Head's association with what has come to be thought of as the "second group" of Traits. See "Doubled Edged Sword" inThe Story of Roy Head and The Traits.[26]
In 1970, Roy Head released the albumSame People. Later releases by Head onDunhill andElektra contained elements ofrockabilly andpsychedelic rock, but by the mid-1970s his solo career had led him tocountry. He signed first withMega Records and then with Shannon Records and later on withABC Records andElektra Records. After releasing the 1970 cult classic "Same People That You Meet Going Up You Meet Coming Down" onDunhill Records, Head's music reached the U.S. country music Top 100 24 times by the mid-1980s,[27] while landing three Top 20 hits: "The Most Wanted Woman in Town", (1975)[28] "Come To Me" and "Now You See Em, Now You Don't" both in 1977 and recorded on theABC/Dot label reaching No. 16 and No. 19, respectively.[22]
The earliest blues-styled, and rockabilly-styled recordings of The Traits, were primarily written in a collaboration between Bolton, Buie, Gibson, and Roy Head.Joe "King" Carrasco had a hit covering The Traits' "One More Time" and released it onHannibal Records andStiff Records (UK) in 1981–1982. Two Tons of Steel covered "One More Time" again on both CD and DVD in 2000, on Palo Duro Records entitledTwo Tons of Steel – Live at Gruene Hall.[29][30] Discographies reveal that much of the music originally written, composed and recorded by the Traits at TNT and Renner Records between 1958 and 1962, has been re-released over the past four decades numerous times by as many as 20 different record labels both in the U.S. and abroad.[31]
During 1966 and 1967, when Head was working with the Roy Head Trio, The Traits independently recorded using Dean Scott on lead vocals. Scott had previously been the stand-in vocalist while Head had been away in the military. In 1967 The Traits recorded with pre-fameJohnny Winter featuring Winter's vocals and blistering guitar leads, producing a vinyl 45; "Parchman Farm" and "Tramp" on Universal 30496. No one knew thatJohnny Winter was just months away from bursting upon the national scene with his appearance atWoodstock.[32] Johnny Winter later re-released the track of "Tramp" he recorded with The Traits in his 1988 compilation album,Birds Can't Row Boats.[33]
After the 1967 disbanding of the Roy Head Trio consisting of Head, Gibson, Kurtz, and guitarist David "Hawk" Koon, Head started pursuing his solo career.
Head is a member of the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame, the Texas Country and Western Music Hall of Fame and the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame. Roy Head and The Traits held reunions in 2001 and 2007.[34] Both reunions involved performances at Kent Finlay'sCheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos[35] an early musical hangout ofGeorge Strait.[34] During their October 2007 sold-out Golden Anniversary Concert appropriately billed as "Roy Head and The Traits – For The Last Time" atTexas State University, Roy Head and The (original) Traits were inducted into theRockabilly Hall of Fame[36] by the Hall's Curator, Bob Timmers.[37] Tommy Bolton and George Frazier were inducted posthumously.[38] Musicians for the performance were Head, The Traits, Gerry Gibson, Dan Buie, Clyde Causey, Bill Pennington, and Gene Kurtz,[37] with special guests Bill York, Don Hutchko, Don Head (1933–2009), and Roy's son, Jason "Sundance" Head.
In 2008, Head performed inCleveland, Ohio, forThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Billboard has observed that Head's versatility actually worked against him since he did not fit into any specific marketing niche. His use of many small record labels also prevented his recordings from achieving national distribution.[39]
Head was still performing and playing festivals like the Ponderosa Stomp. He released one last album,Still Treatin' 'Em Right, in 2011.
His sonSundance Head was a contestant onseason 6 ofAmerican Idol. In 2007, Sundance signed a recording contract with UniversalMotown Records. In 2016, he was the winner onseason 11 ofThe Voice, mentored byBlake Shelton.[40][41] Head died of a heart attack on September 21, 2020, at the age of 79.[42]
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 1965 | Roy Head and the Traits | TNT | ||
| Treat Me Right | 122 | Scepter | ||
| 1970 | Same People | Dunhill | ||
| 1972 | Dismal Prisoner | TMT | ||
| 1976 | Head First | 42 | ABC/Dot | |
| A Head of His Time | 45 | |||
| 1978 | Tonight's the Night | |||
| 1979 | In Our Room | Elektra | ||
| 1980 | The Many Sides of Roy Head | |||
| 1985 | Living for a Song | Texas Crude | ||
| 2011 | Still Treatin' 'Em Right | Music Master | ||
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US [43] | CAN Country | CAN | AUS | |||
| 1965 | "Treat Her Right" | 2 | 8 | 14 | Treat Her Right: The Best of Roy Head | ||
| "Just a Little Bit" | 39 | 18 | |||||
| "Apple of My Eye" | 32 | 51 | |||||
| 1966 | "Get Back" | 88 | |||||
| "My Babe" | 99 | ||||||
| "Wigglin' and Gigglin'" | 110 | singles only | |||||
| "To Make a Big Man Cry" | 95 | ||||||
| 1967 | "You're (Almost) Tuff" | ||||||
| "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" | |||||||
| "Nobody But Me (Tells My Eagle When to Fly)" | |||||||
| "Got Down on Saturday (Sunday in the Rain)" | |||||||
| 1968 | "Broadway Walk" | ||||||
| "Ain't Goin' Down Right" | |||||||
| 1971 | "Puff of Smoke" | 96 | |||||
| 1974 | "Baby's Not Home" | 66 | |||||
| 1975 | "The Most Wanted Woman in Town" | 19 | 7 | Head First | |||
| "Help Yourself to Me" | 47 | single only | |||||
| "I'll Take It" | 55 | Head First | |||||
| 1976 | "The Door I Used to Close" | 28 | |||||
| "Bridge for Crawling Back" | 50 | ||||||
| "One Night" | 51 | A Head of His Time | |||||
| 1977 | "Angel with a Broken Wing" | 57 | |||||
| "Julianne" | 79 | single only | |||||
| "Come to Me" | 16 | 9 | Tonight's the Night | ||||
| 1978 | "Now You See 'Em, Now You Don't" | 19 | |||||
| "Tonight's the Night (It's Gonna Be Alright)" | 28 | 17 | |||||
| "Love Survived" | 45 | ||||||
| 1979 | "Kiss You and Make It Better" | 74 | single only | ||||
| "In Our Room" | 79 | In Our Room | |||||
| 1980 | "The Fire of Two Old Flames" | 65 | |||||
| "Long Drop" | 59 | single only | |||||
| "Drinkin' Them Long Necks" | 70 | The Many Sides of Roy Head | |||||
| "I've Never Gone to Bed with an Ugly Woman" | |||||||
| 1981 | "After Texas" | 75 | singles only | ||||
| 1982 | "Play Another Gettin' Drunk and Take Somebody Home Song" | 89 | |||||
| "The Trouble with Hearts" | 64 | ||||||
| 1983 | "Your Mama Don't Dance" | 85 | |||||
| "Where Did He Go Right" | 79 | ||||||
| 1985 | "Break Out the Good Stuff" | 93 | |||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
