He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
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| "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" | |||||
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| Single by The Hollies | |||||
| B-side | "'Cos You Like to Love Me" (Hicks) | ||||
| Released | December 1, 1969 (US) September 1, 1969 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | 1969 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Label | UK: Parlophone R5806 US: Epic 10532 |
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| Writer(s) | Bob Russell and Bobby Scott | ||||
| Producer | Ron Richards | ||||
| The Hollies singles chronology | |||||
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"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a popular music ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. It was a hit single for The Hollies in 1969 and for Neil Diamond in 1970.
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[edit] Chart performance
The Hollies' recording, which featured Elton John on piano, was released in the UK on September 1, 1969; the US release was three months later on December 1. "He Ain't Heavy" reached number three in the UK[1] and #7 in the US. The song, paired with "Carrie Anne", was re-released in late 1988 in the UK following its use in a television advertisement for Miller Lite beer. It reached the number one spot in the UK charts for two weeks in September 1988. In the US, Neil Diamond's version of the song went to #20 on the Billboard singles chart late in 1970.
[edit] Origin of the song
Scott and Russell had been introduced to each other by Johnny Mercer at a California nightclub. Despite the fact that Russell was dying of cancer of the lymph nodes and that the pair met in person only three times, they managed to collaborate on the song. The publishing rights to the song were the subject of a legal battle following Russell's death.[citation needed]
[edit] Origin of the title
The first editor of Kiwanis Magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column in September 1924 carrying the title "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The phrase is also associated with Father Edward J. Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town. Flanagan came across a line drawing of a young boy carrying his brother in the Christmas 1941 edition of the Louis Allis Messenger. The caption read "He ain't heavy Mister — he's m' brother!" It was created by Mr. Van B. Hooper who later became the editor of Ideals magazine. The drawing was reprinted in the first issue of Ideals in December 1944. Flanagan felt that the drawing illustrated the work done at Boys Town and received permission from the company in August 1943 to recreate the drawing in color with the caption "He ain't heavy, Father . . . he's m' brother." The phrase became the motto of Boys Town (now Girls and Boys Town).
[edit] Cover versions
The earliest recording of the song was made by Neil Diamond, from the "Taproot Manuscript" album, but as this recording was not released until after The Hollies' version (in 1969), it is often mistakenly listed as a cover version.
In 1988, Bill Medley recorded a version for the end credits of the film Rambo III. This version, produced by Giorgio Moroder, was released in the UK as a single around the same time as the re-issued Hollies version, and both featured in the Top 40 simultaneously, Medley's version reaching #25.
The song has been recorded many others, including:
- The Ruffin Brothers (David & Jimmy) on their 1970 album I Am My Brother's Keeper
- Cher on her 1971 album Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
- Donny Hathaway on his eponymous 1971 album
- The Osmonds in 1971 (and frequently in concert as a finale)
- Brotherhood of Man on their 1974 album Good Things Happening
- Olivia Newton-John in 1975 (as the B-side of her single "Let It Shine", both songs charted simultaneously and reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in January 1976)[2][3]
- The Housemartins in 1988
- Gotthard, in 1996 BMG Ariola version of their third album G.
- Rufus Wainwright, for the soundtrack to the Ben Stiller film Zoolander
- Barry Manilow in his 2007 album The Greatest Songs of the Seventies
- Christian music artist Clay Crosse on his Stained Glass album
- The Choirboys
- Austria3 did version in the Austrian dialect of the German language: "Weusd' mei Freund bist" (literally: "because you are a friend of mine")
- American Idol Season 4's Top 12 contestants for a Red Cross charity single
[edit] References
- ^ EveryHit.com
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 455.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 180.
| Preceded by "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins |
UK number one single September 18, 1988 |
Succeeded by "Desire" by U2 |
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