FlinterFile: The Hollies- He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

In 1969, Graham Nash left the Hollies to form the group Crosby, Stills & Nash.That didn’t mean the end of the Hollies: they replaced him by Terry Sylvester. This song was originally sung by Kelly Gordon (a producer of artists like Aretha Franklin and Glen Campbell) and written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. They got their title from a community formed by a Catholic priest, where homeless and troubled boys were helped. The motto of the community was ‘He Ain’t Heavy Father, He’s My Brother’. This slow and soulful song was picked up by the producer of Joe Cocker, who thought it was a great song for him, but Joe Cocker didn’t want it. Tony Hicks was looking for songs for the Hollies at the same time, and when the producer of Joe Cocker played him the song, Tony Hicks decided to take the song to the Hollies. They recorded it with Elton John on the piano (he was paid 12 pounds!) and as their second single after Graham Nash left, it was a number 7 hit in the US and originally number 3 in the UK. After a re-release in 1988, it was number 1 in the UK. Enjoy

The Hollies- He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

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