He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

This article is about the song by The Hollies. For other uses, see He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (disambiguation).
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
Single by The Hollies
B-side "'Cos You Like to Love Me"
Released 26 September 1969 (1969-09-26)[1]
Recorded 25 June and 7 August 1969
Abbey Road Studios[1]
Genre
Length 4:20[2]
Label
Writer(s) Bob Russell and Bobby Scott
Producer(s) Ron Richards
The Hollies singles chronology
"Sorry Suzanne"
(1969)		 "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
(1969)		 "I Can't Tell the Bottom From the Top"
(1970)

"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a popular music ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for The Hollies later that year and again for Neil Diamond in 1970. It has been covered by many artists in subsequent years. The Hollies' and Rufus Wainwright's versions of the song were featured in the film Zoolander.

Origin of the song

Scott and Russell had been introduced to each other by Johnny Mercer, at a California nightclub. Although Russell was dying of lymphoma and the pair met in person only three times, they managed to collaborate on the song.

Origin of the title

In 1884, James Wells, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland, in his book The Parables of Jesus tells the story of a little girl carrying a big baby boy. Seeing her struggling, someone asked if she wasn't tired. With surprise she replied, "No, he's not heavy; he's my brother."[3]

In a 1918 publication by Ralph Waldo Trine titled The Higher Powers of Mind and Spirit, he relates the following anecdote: "Do you know that incident in connection with the little Scottish girl? She was trudging along, carrying as best she could a boy younger, but it seemed almost as big as she herself, when one remarked to her how heavy he must be for her to carry, when instantly came the reply: 'He's na heavy. He's mi brither.'"[4]

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 first use of the phrase exactly as it is rendered in the song title.

In the 1940s, the words, adapted as "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother", were taken as a slogan for Boys Town children's home by founder Father Edward Flanagan.[5]

Chart performance

The Hollies' recording, which featured Elton John on piano, was released in the UK on 1 September 1969 and on 1 December 1969 in the US. "He Ain't Heavy" reached No. 3 in the UK[6] and No. 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 No. 1 spot in the UK chart for two weeks in September 1988.[7]

Neil Diamond's version of the song, recorded for his Tap Root Manuscript album, went to No. 20 on the Billboard "Hot 100 Singles" chart in late 1970.

The Osmonds covered the song on their 1970 album, Osmonds, and was a staple at their concerts.

Chart (1969–2013) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 16
Canadian Top Singles[9] 11
Canadian Adult Singles[10] 35
Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 9
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)[12] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 15
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 7

Neil Diamond version

The Neil Diamond version entered at #68 on the Hot 100 on 7 November 1970 [18] (UNI Records, 55264, length 4:09). The flip side was "Free Life".[19] The song appears on the Neil Diamond album Tap Root Manuscript, which was released November 1970.[18] The song was played by KGB-AM radio, San Diego, California, in late 1970, prior to the then-new Walk for Mankind, in dedication to those who would be walking for donations that day.

The Justice Collective version

"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
Single by The Justice Collective
Released 17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)
Format
Recorded October–November 2012
Sleeper Studios, Metropolis Studios, Abbey Road Studios
(London)
Parr Street Studios, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
(Liverpool)
Genre Pop rock
Length 4:33
Label Metropolis (5065001566387)
Writer(s)
  • Bob Russell
  • Bobby Scott
Producer(s)
Music video
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" on YouTube

In 2012, a version of the song was recorded, and was released on December 17, 2012, by musicians and celebrities going under the name The Justice Collective, including Melanie C, Robbie Williams, Paul Heaton, Paloma Faith, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Rebecca Ferguson, Beverley Knight, and two original members of The Hollies, Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks, for various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster.[20]

The song went on to take the coveted Christmas number one position for 2012 on the UK Singles Chart,[21] beating The X Factor winner James Arthur, who was number one the previous week.

Background

After the News International phone hacking scandal, members of The Farm along with Pete Wylie and Mick Jones of The Clash performed at an anti-The Sun concert at the Liverpool Olympia in September 2011. Following this they formed The Justice Tonight Band and toured the United Kingdom and Europe for the next year in order to raise awareness of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign.[22]

Initially, the idea was to re-release the 2009 single "The Fields of Anfield Road" by The Liverpool Collective featuring The Kop Choir; however, this idea was rejected by Peter Hooton as only a relatively small number of people would buy it. Inspired by Everton's Hillsborough tribute on 17 September 2012, the song was played at Goodison Park prior to their match against Newcastle United. It was then decided that a re-recording of this song by various artists including The Justice Tonight Band would be released as the charity single.[22]

Keith Mullen of The Farm recruited Guy Chambers to produce the single and with Chambers offering free use of his Sleeper Studios to record the song. On 25 October, Steve Rotheram, Guy Chambers and Kenny Dalglish announced plans of the single to be recorded by various artists such as Robbie Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith, Beverley Knight, Melanie Chisholm, Holly Johnson, Mick Jones, Glen Campbell, Peter Hooton, Chris Sharrock, Glenn Tilbrook, Ren Harvieu, Dave McCabe, Paul Heaton, Hollie Cook, Jon McClure, John Power, Gerry Marsden, and two original members of The Hollies, Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks.[22][23]

Personnel

Vocalists[24]
Musicians[24]
Production[24]
  • Guy Chambers – producer
  • Richard Flack – producer, engineer
  • Oliver Som – engineer
  • Liam Nolan – engineer
  • Chris Taylor – engineer
  • Jon Withnall – engineer
  • Tony Draper – engineer
  • Alec Brits – engineer

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[26] 17
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[27] 2
Spain (Airplay Chart)[28] 33
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[29] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[31] 49

References

  1. 1 2 The Hollies—Epic Anthology: From the Original Master Tapes Epic Records EGK 46161 liner notes
  2. ↑ Epic Records 5-10532 45 RPM
  3. ↑ The parables of Jesus. Books.google.com. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  4. ↑ Trine, Ralph Waldo (1918). The Higher Powers of Mind and Spirit. Project Gutenberg.
  5. ↑ "ZipUSA: Boystown, Nebraska @ National Geographic Magazine". Ngm.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  6. ↑ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles and Album Charts". EveryHit.com. 16 March 2000. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  7. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/all-the-number-ones-singles-list/_/1988/
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Hollies – He Ain't Heavy - He's My Brother" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ↑ "RPM 100" (PHP). RPM. 13 (5). 21 March 1970. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "RPM Adult" (PHP). RPM. 12 (26). 14 February 1970. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  11. ↑ "Musicline.de – Hollies, The Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  12. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Hollies – He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Hollies – He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". VG-lista.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Hollies, The – He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1969-10-04" UK Singles Chart.
  17. ↑ "The Hollies – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for The Hollies.
  18. 1 2 "I Am...I Said, A Fan of Neil Diamond". Iaisnd.com. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  19. ↑ "Neil Diamond – He Ain't Heavy ... He's My Brother (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  20. ↑ Michaels, Sean (23 November 2012). "Paul McCartney guests on Hillsborough charity single with Robbie Williams". Guardian UK. London. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  21. ↑ "Hillsborough single is Christmas number one". Daily Telegraph UK. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 "Interview With Keith Mullin | Players | Interviews". Blue Kipper. 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  23. ↑ Gritt, Emma (2012-12-24). "The Justice Collective secure Christmas number one slot, outselling X Factor winner James Arthur by 45,000 copies | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  24. 1 2 3 "Listen To ….. & Order 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' By The Justice Collective | great red north (LiverpoolFC.ca)". Greatrednorth.wordpress.com. 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  25. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 51, 2012". Irish Singles Chart.
  26. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Justice Collective – He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother". VG-lista.
  27. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-12-29". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  28. ↑ "Promusicae (Week: December 26, 2012)" (PDF). Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-12-29" UK Indie Chart.
  30. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-12-29" UK Singles Chart.
  31. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 2012". BBC Radio 1. BBC Online. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.

External links

Preceded by
"A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
(The Hollies version)
September 18, 1988 – September 24, 1988 		Succeeded by
"Desire" by U2
Preceded by
"Impossible" by James Arthur		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
(The Justice Collective version)
December 23, 2012 – December 29, 2012 		Succeeded by
"Impossible" by James Arthur
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