Roy Kent Head (January 9, 1941 – September 21, 2020) was an American singer, best known for his hit song " Treat Her Right ".
34-582: Head and fellow high school student Tommy Bolton founded musical group The Traits in 1957, with the band, billed as Roy Head and the Traits , scoring the international hit " Treat Her Right " in 1965. Head later enjoyed a successful solo career with several hits on the country 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
68-589: A Time in Hollywood and is included on its soundtrack . Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg . Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $ 4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records . When the Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961, Greenberg had launched
102-624: A Time in Hollywood . It was also recorded in 1988 by George 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. "Come To Me" and "Now You See Em, Now You Don't" both in 1977 and recorded on the ABC/Dot label reached No. 16 and No. 19, respectively. In 1965 TNT Records released the group's first "album" consisting of their music recorded for TNT and Renner Records, TLP No. 101 entitled Roy Head and
136-677: A prime exponent of blue-eyed soul . The song reached No.2 in the United States on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts . The Beatles ' " Yesterday " kept "Treat Her Right" from the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 . In Canada, it reached No.8. In the UK, No.30. Roy Head and the Traits " Just a Little Bit " and the bluesy-rockabilly hybrid, "Apple Of My Eye" also cracked
170-835: A subsidiary, Wand Records . Through the two labels, she launched the careers of not only the Shirelles, but Dionne Warwick , Chuck Jackson , The Kingsmen , B.J. Thomas , Joey Dee , Maxine Brown , The Esquires , Tommy Hunt , The Guess Who , Tammi Terrell , The Independents and B. T. Express , and gave The Isley Brothers their famous hit " Twist and Shout ', which was later covered by The Beatles . Other Scepter/Wand subsidiary labels include: Bamboo, Bunky, Cap City, Captain, Citation, Garrison, Jet Stream, Lanie, Madtad, Marlu, Mosaic, Pepper, Realm, Roadshow, Rock'N, Sonday, Spokane, Stop, Tiffany, Toddlin' Town and Treat. In 1965, Scepter moved its offices to 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan , New York City (a building now famous for housing
204-477: A successful owner of Pennington Funeral Home in San 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) and Dr. T.R. Buie (1909–2000), which would lay the groundwork for what would happen in
238-563: The ABC/Dot label reaching No. 16 and No. 19, respectively. 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 on Hannibal Records and Stiff 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 entitled Two Tons of Steel – Live at Gruene Hall . Discographies reveal that much of
272-994: The B-side . Renner Records also released The Traits " Got My Mojo Working " and "Woe Woe" on label No. 229. 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) 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
306-854: The Rockabilly Hall of Fame by the Hall's Curator, Bob Timmers. Tommy Bolton and George Frazier were inducted posthumously. Musicians for the performance were Head, The Traits, Gerry Gibson, Dan Buie, Clyde Causey, Bill Pennington, and Gene Kurtz, with special guests Bill York, Don Hutchko, Don Head (1933–2009), and Roy's son, Jason "Sundance" Head. In 2008, Head performed in Cleveland , Ohio, for The 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. Head
340-541: The " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " in 2003, re-positioned to number 23 on the 2020 updated list. In 2006, it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Scepter was one of the earliest record labels to release 12-inch singles intended for the nascent disco market. During this revival of
374-792: The Department of the Treasury. Danny Gomez graduated from TXST and later earned his doctorate at Texas Tech University in Lubbock . 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 from melanoma cancer in 2005. George Frazier pursued real estate investment interests, and Bill Pennington followed in his mother's footsteps and become
SECTION 10
#1732790070284408-479: The TNT red. 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. His jumps and slides have compared to those of Nicholas Brothers . Because he was white, but his footwork included moves popular among African American gymnastic dancers, he
442-531: The Top 40 in 1965. However, those were only minor hits in the wake of "Treat Her Right", which is estimated to have sold over four million copies worldwide. By 1995 "Treat Her Right" had been covered by as many as 20 nationally known recording artists including the Yardbirds /Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page , Bruce Springsteen , Jerry Lee Lewis , Bon Jovi , British blue-eyed soul vocalist Chris Farlowe (under
476-688: The Traits held reunions in 2001 and 2007 and were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2007. Roy Kent Head was born in Three Rivers, Texas in 1941 and moved to San 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
510-484: 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
544-469: The U.S. Pop and R&B charts in 1965, behind The Beatles ' " Yesterday ". "Treat Her Right", with its blazing horns and punchy rhythm, credited to Head and bass man Gene Kurtz, established Head as a prime exponent of blue-eyed soul . By 1995, "Treat Her Right" had been covered by 20 nationally known recording artists including Jimmy Page , Bruce Springsteen , Jerry Lee Lewis , Sawyer Brown , Bon Jovi and both Mae West and Barbara Mandrell (under
578-686: The age of 79. Treat Her Right (Roy Head song) " Treat Her Right " is a soul music song, with a standard 12-bar-blues structure. Written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz, it was recorded by Head and The Traits and released on the Back Beat label in 1965. In 1965 the band signed with producer Huey Meaux of Houston . "Treat Her Right" was recorded at Gold Star Studios in Houston, with Head on vocals, Johnny Clark on lead guitar, Frank Miller on rhythm guitar, Gene Kurtz on bass, Dan Buie on keyboards, Danny Gomez and Tommy May on tenor sax, Johnny Gibson on trumpet, and Jerry Gibson on drums. In
612-399: The early 1960s as one of the premier teenage Texas-based rock and roll bands while playing the concert, sock hop , college and university and dance hall circuits throughout Texas. During this period, the parents of The Traits turned down Dick Clark 's invitation for the boys to appear on American Bandstand , which ABC had started broadcasting nationwide from Philadelphia in 1957. At
646-424: The ending instrumental choruses, Roy Head's voice is heard repeatedly shouting "HEY", and saying ad-libs including "You're too much, baby". Issued on Don Robey 's Back Beat label, the song reached No. 2 on both the U.S. Pop and R&B charts in 1965, behind The Beatles ' " Yesterday ." "Treat Her Right", with its blazing horns and punchy rhythm, credited to Head and bass man Gene Kurtz, established Head as
680-410: The group's last four years. Roy Head and the Traits signed with Scepter Records in 1964. Scepter had developed a nationwide network of independent distributors while working with The Shirelles . 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
714-560: 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"). In 1965, the band signed with the record producer Huey Meaux of Houston , who maintained a stable of record labels. "Treat Her Right" was recorded at Gold Star Studios in Houston. Issued on Don Robey's Back Beat label, it reached No. 2 on both
SECTION 20
#1732790070284748-610: The label during the disco era in the 1970s, the label featured LTG Exchange, South Shore Commission , Ultra High Frequency, General Crook , Southside Movement , Armada Orchestra and Bobby Moore. The label worked with several music industry notables of the period, Marvin Schlachter joined Scepter as a partner in 1960, he became overall vice president and later sold his interest in the label in 1969. Schlachter then ran several other major labels before opening up Prelude Records in 1977. Scepter's main 1960s producer, Luther Dixon ,
782-505: The legendary Studio 54 disco ). The building included warehouse space and its own recording studio . Though few albums of note were recorded at Scepter Studios, one was the influential experimental rock album The Velvet Underground & Nico , much of which was recorded there in April 1966, by engineer John Licata under the supervision of Andy Warhol and Norman Dolph. The album was ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone ' s list of
816-575: The mid-1970s his solo career had led him to country . He signed first with Mega Records and then with Shannon Records and later on with ABC Records and Elektra Records . After releasing the 1970 cult classic "Same People That You Meet Going Up You Meet Coming Down" on Dunhill Records , Head's music reached the U.S. country music Top 100 24 times by the mid-1980s, while landing three Top 20 hits: "The Most Wanted Woman in Town", (1975) "Come To Me" and "Now You See Em, Now You Don't" both in 1977 and recorded on
850-514: 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 in San Antonio . 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), establishing themselves in the late 1950s and
884-474: 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. 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
918-406: The stand-in vocalist while Head had been away in the military. In 1967 The Traits recorded with pre-fame Johnny Winter featuring Winter's vocals and blistering guitar leads, producing a vinyl 45; "Parchman Farm" and "Tramp" on Universal 30496. No one knew that Johnny Winter was just months away from bursting upon the national scene with his appearance at Woodstock . Johnny Winter later re-released
952-499: The time, all members of The Traits were minors, and some were still in high school. 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 of United Artists Records , distributed The Traits' version of Ray Sharpe 's 1959 "Linda Lu", with "Little Mama" by Dan Buie and Head on
986-582: The title "Treat Her Good") and both Mae West and Barbara Mandrell under the title of "Treat Him Right". Even Bob Dylan , Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones covered it "live". "Treat Her Right" was a featured song, along with Wilson Pickett 's " Mustang Sally " and Steve Cropper 's " In the Midnight Hour ", in the successful 1991 motion picture, The Commitments . The song was also featured in Quentin Tarantino 's 2019 film Once Upon
1020-463: The title of "Treat Him Right)". Bob Dylan , Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones 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 " and Steve Cropper 's " In the Midnight Hour ", in the successful 1991 motion picture, The Commitments . "Treat Her Right" also appeared in Quentin Tarantino 's 2019 film Once Upon
1054-1091: The track of "Tramp" he recorded with The Traits in his 1988 compilation album, Birds Can't Row Boats. 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. Both reunions involved performances at Kent Finlay's Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos an early musical hangout of George Strait . During their October 2007 sold-out Golden Anniversary Concert appropriately billed as "Roy Head and The Traits – For The Last Time" at Texas State University , Roy Head and The (original) Traits were inducted into
Roy Head - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-598: Was sometimes said to be a practitioner of "blue-eyed soul". The chart -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" in The Story of Roy Head and The Traits . In 1970, Roy Head released the album Same People . Later releases by Head on Dunhill and Elektra contained elements of rockabilly and psychedelic rock , but by
1122-499: Was still performing and playing festivals like the Ponderosa Stomp. He released one last album, Still Treatin' 'Em Right , in 2011. His son Sundance Head was a contestant on season 6 of American Idol . In 2007, Sundance signed a recording contract with Universal Motown Records . In 2016, he was the winner on season 11 of The Voice , mentored by Blake Shelton . Head died of a heart attack on September 21, 2020, at
1156-451: Was unparalleled in his field as a songwriter for years. It was also at Scepter that Burt Bacharach came into prominence as a writer and producer. Mel Cheren joined in 1970 as head of production, and together with the vice president for sales Ed Kushins launched West End Records in 1976. Cheren worked with Tom Moulton to create some of the first disco remixes on Scepter's early 12 inch discs in 1975. Greenberg decided to retire from
#283716