Tune Tuesday – You Can Have Her

Today’s Tune Tuesday song is by a guy who should have been bigger than he was – Roy Hamilton.

Roy was born in Georgia on this day in 1929. He found success in 1953 with the song You’ll Never Walk Alone from the movie Carousel. It went to number 1 on the R&B chart and stayed there for 8 weeks. When he performed the song on the Ed Sullivan show, it got him more attention. His record label rushed him in to record other songs including Unchained Melody (which was a hit for Al Hibbler). In 1955, his version held the top spot on the R&B chart while, on the pop chart, it had reached the number six spot. It was the second number-one R&B hit of his career as well as the first, and only, top-ten US pop hit of his career.

In 1956, Roy developed a lung condition that was compared to tuberculosis and announced an indefinite retirement from show business. A year later, when he was in better health, he resumed his career, but pop standards weren’t so hot anymore. By this time, Rock and Roll had made the scene. So, in late 1957, Epic coaxed Hamilton into recording “Don’t Let Go”, an R&B rocker produced by Otis Blackwell (who wrote Don’t Be Cruel and All Shook Up for Elvis). By early 1958, “Don’t Let Go” had become the second US top-15 pop hit of Hamilton’s career and the first top-40 hit ever recorded in stereo.

By the mid 1960’s, sadly, Roy’s career was on the down side. In 1969, he made his last recordings at the same studio where Elvis was recording. About 6 months later, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while at home and was in a coma for a week before he was taken off life support. Roy was 40 years old when he died.

In a 2017 documentary for the BBC, Hamilton’s son Roy Hamilton Jr. revealed that Elvis sent Roy’s wife, Myrna, a rose every day Hamilton was in the hospital. When Roy passed away from complications of his stroke, Presley sent Myrna flowers for the following six months.

Today, I wanted to share his last hit record – You Can Have Her. In 1961, the song spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 12, while reaching No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Sides chart. The lyrics tell the story of a man who’s love has left him for someone else. It is a song that at one time hit home for me and led to a moment I still am not very proud of.

I once had to DJ a wedding for the sister of my ex-girlfriend. It was an incredibly awkward time for me. By the time of this wedding, my ex had remarried and had a child. Throughout that evening, I avoided looking at her as much as I could. I remember all of the emotions and they got the best of me. During a set of uptempo oldies, I snuck You Can Have Her into the mix. This would certainly be a song that no one at this party would know. Oh sure, they danced to it, but it was literally played for … my own satisfaction. Not one of my best moments.

Anyway, I digress. Roy Hamilton had SO many great songs that have long been forgotten. If you get the chance to listen to more of his stuff, I encourage it. Here is You Can Have Her:

You Can Have Her

Well, you can have her, I don’t want her,
She didn’t love me anyway.
She only wanted someone to play with
But all I wanted was love to stay.

Well, you get stuck with the wrong woman
There’s only one thing that you can do:
Just dig a hole and jump right in it,
And pull the ground right over you.

[Chorus:]
Well, you can have her (you can have her)
I don’t want her ( I don’t want her),
She didn’t love me (didn’t love me ) anyway (anyway).
She only wanted (only wanted) someone to play with (one to lay with)
But all I wanted (all I wanted) was love to stay (was love to stay).

The girl I love, she, up and left me,
She ran away with my best friend.
Comes home at night just for an hour
When day light comes she’s gone again.

[Chorus]

Life without love is mighty empty,
But confession’s good for the soul.
I’d rather have love that I can cling to
Than have the world and all of it’s gold.

(You can have her) you can have her,
(I don’t want her) I don’t want her,
(She didn’t love you) She didn’t love me, (anyway) anyway.
(She only wanted) she only wanted (someone to play with) someone to play with
(But all I wanted) Ohh! (Was love to stay) Ohh!

You can have her (you can have her)
I don’t want her (I don’t want her)
She didn’t love me (didn’t love me) anyway (anyway)
She only wanted (only wanted) someone to play with (someone to play with)
But all I want (all I want)
All I want (all I want)
All I want (all I want)
All I want (all I want)…