Single:
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother entered the Australian singles chart* on 25 October 1969 and peaked at #8. The song was #55 on the Top 100 of 1970.
Songwriters:
Bob Russell, Bobby Scott
Producer:
Ron Richards
Record label of Australian release:
Parlophone
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
BONUS CLIP BELOW – version by Neil Diamond
Wikipedia:
James Wells, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland, tells the story of a little girl carrying a big baby boy in his 1884 book The Parables of Jesus. Seeing her struggling, someone asked if she wasn’t tired. With surprise she replied: “No, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother.”
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. According to the Boys Town website, the phrase was said to Fr. Flanagan in 1918 by one of the residents while carrying another up a set of stairs. The boy being carried is said to have had polio and worn leg braces.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Ain’t_Heavy,_He’s_My_Brother
The Hollies recorded the song in June 1969 at the EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios), with Allan Clarke on lead vocals. Elton John, who was working as a session musician at the time, played piano.
Lyrics:
The road is long
With a many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I′m strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain’t heavy, he′s my brother
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
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BONUS CLIP
A cover by Neil Diamond of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother was a minor hit in Australia. It entered the Kent charts on 25 January 1971 and peaked at #94.
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