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)
Format	7" 45 RPM
Recorded	25 June and 7 August 1969 Abbey Road Studios
Genre	Symphonic rock
Length	4:00
Label	Parlophone R5806 Epic 5-10532
Writer(s)	Bob Russell and Bobby Scott
Producer	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.

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]}

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"; variations on the phrase are attested as early as 1884. 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. 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.

In an 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.'"

It was also reported through the media of the time that the song was written by a Vietnam veteran. He and his company were approaching a town after it had been bombed. A little boy was carrying the dead body of a younger boy away from the burning village. One of the soldiers asked the boy if the dead child was heavy. The child responded, "He's not heavy, he's my brother."^{[citation needed]}

The statement is a use of paraprosdokian, a figure of speech in which the second half of the statement causes the hearer to reinterpret the first part. Often used for comedic effect, this is a rare use of the form as pathos.

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 #3 in the UK and #7 in the US. The song, paired with "Carrie", was re-released in late 1988 in the UK following its use in a television advertisement for Miller Lite beer. It reached the #1 spot in the UK chart for two weeks in September 1988.

Neil Diamond's version of the song, recorded for his Tap Root Manuscript album, went to #20 on the Billboard "Hot 100 Singles" chart in late 1970.

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	16
Canadian Top Singles	11
Canadian Adult Singles	35
Germany (Media Control AG)	9
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	15
Norway (VG-lista)	7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	7

Neil Diamond version

The Neil Diamond version was released as a single on 7 November 1970 (UNI Records, 55264, length 2:47). The flip side was "Free Life". The song appears on the Neil Diamond album "Tap Root Manuscript", which was released 21 November 1970. 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	CD single, digital download, 7" single
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	Guy Chambers, Richard Flack

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 and Beverley Knight for various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster. The song went on to take the coveted Christmas number one position for 2012 on the UK Singles Chart., beating The X Factor winner James Arthur, who was number one the previous week, and a host of social network campaigns supporting novelty acts such as Eddie Stobart Truckers and the One Pound Fish Man. The single gave Melanie C her twelfth number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart, making her the only female artist to reach number one in a quintet, quartet, duo, solo and ensemble.

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.

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.

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, Peter Hooton, Chris Sharrock, Glen Tilbrook, Ren Harvieu, Dave McCabe, Paul Heaton, Hollie Cook, Jon McClure, John Power and Gerry Marsden released under the name The Justice Collective.

Personnel

Vocalists

• Andy Brown (Lawson)
• Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers)
• Paul Heaton (The Beautiful South)
• Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze)
• John Power (Cast, The La's)
• Robbie Williams
• Melanie C
• Rebecca Ferguson
• Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
• Beverley Knight
• Paloma Faith
• Eliza Doolittle
• Dave McCabe (The Zutons)
• Peter Hooton (The Farm)
• Ren Harvieu
• Jon McClure (Reverend and The Makers)
• Paul McCartney
• Shane MacGowan (The Pogues)
• Bobby Elliott (The Hollies)
• Tony Hicks (The Hollies)
• Hollie Cook (The Slits)
• LIPA Gospel Choir

Musicians

• Chris Sharrock (Beady Eye) – drums
• David Catlin-Birch (World Party) – bass
• Paul McCartney – lead guitar
• Mick Jones (The Clash) – electric guitar
• Andrew "Davo" Davitt – acoustic guitar
• Guy Chambers – piano
• Will Pound – harmonica
• Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – strings
• Richard Blake – trumpet/flugelhorn
• Matthew Lewis – trombone/euphonium
• Meredith Moore – French horn
• Will Roberts – tuba

Production

• 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

Chart performance

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)	4
Norway (VG-lista)	17
Scotland (Official Charts Company)	2
Spain (Airplay Chart)	33
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	49

Per Gessle version

In March 2013, Per Gessle (guitarist and vocalist of the Swedish pop duo Roxette) released a version of this song on the soundtrack of "Small Apartments", movie directed by Jonas Åkerlund.

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

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