Roy C
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Roy Charles Hammond (b 1943 in Georgia, although some sources say New York City), known as Roy C (alternatively Roy-C or Roy “C”), is an American soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit “Shotgun Wedding”.
He began singing tenor with The Genies, a vocal group in Long Beach, Long Island, who were offered a record deal by producer Bob Shad. Their first single, "Who's That Knockin'", reached # 72 on the pop charts in 1958, with Claude Johnson (later of the duo Don and Juan) on lead vocal. The group then moved to Atlantic Records, with Hammond taking over as lead singer, but their recordings were not released, and he was drafted into the Air Force.
When he returned to New York in 1965, he organised a studio session to record his own song, "Shotgun Wedding", and released it under the name of Roy C on his own Hammond label before leasing it to the larger Black Hawk Records. The record, with its novelty ricochet opening and relatively risqué subject matter for the time, reached # 14 on the national R&B charts. It had even greater success when issued in the UK, reaching # 6 on the charts in 1966 and # 8 when reissued in 1972.
After some unsuccessful follow-ups on the Shout label, Hammond started another new label, Alaga. Working with guitarist J. Hines, he had more success with "Got To Get Enough (Of Your Sweet Love Stuff)" making the R&B charts in 1971. Two years later he signed for Mercury Records, and had another R&B hit with "Don't Blame The Man". He also released a hit album, Sex and Soul, and several more minor hit singles. He stayed with Mercury for several years until label bosses took exception to his outspoken political stance in songs like "Great Great Grandson Of A Slave".
Since 1979 he has continued to release a string of high quality soul singles and albums, mostly self-composed, on his own Three Gems record label, initially based in New York City and later in South Carolina.
