"Treat Her Right"
Single by Roy Head and the Traits
from the album Treat Her Right: The Best of Roy Head
B-side"So Long, My Love"
Released1965 (1965)
Recorded1965
GenreSoul
Length2:04
LabelBack Beat
546
Songwriter(s)
  • Roy Head
  • Gene Kurtz
Producer(s)Huey Meaux
Roy Head and the Traits singles chronology
"Treat Her Right"
(1965)
"Just a Little Bit"
(1965)

"Treat Her Right" is a soul music song, with a standard 12-bar-blues structure. Written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz,[1] it was recorded by Head and The Traits and released on the Back Beat label in 1965.

Background

Members of the Traits on this record included Johnny Clark on lead guitar, Frank Miller on rhythm guitar, Gene Kurtz on bass, Dan Buie on keyboards, Danny Gomez and Tommy May on tenor sax, Johnny Gibson on trumpet, and Jerry Gibson on drums.

In the ending instrumental choruses, Roy Head's voice is heard repeatedly shouting "HEY", and saying ad-libs including "You're too much, baby".

In 1965 the band signed with producer Huey Meaux[2] of Houston, who maintained a stable of record labels. "Treat Her Right" was recorded at Gold Star Studios (later known as SugarHill Recording Studios) in Houston. Issued on Don Robey's (Nov. 1, 1903 - June 16, 1975) Back Beat label, it reached No.2 on both the U.S. Pop and R&B charts in 1965,[3] behind The Beatles' "Yesterday." "Treat Her Right", with its blazing horns and punchy rhythm,[4] credited to Head and bass man Gene Kurtz,[5] established Head as a prime exponent of blue-eyed soul.[6] By 1995 "Treat Her Right" had been covered by as many as 20 nationally known recording artists including the Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bon Jovi, British blue-eyed soul vocalist Chris Farlowe (under the title "Treat Her Good") and both Mae West and Barbara Mandrell under the title of "Treat Him Right". Even Bob Dylan, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones[7] covered it "live".

Roy Head and the Traits "Just a Little Bit" and the bluesy-rockabilly hybrid, "Apple Of My Eye" also cracked the Top 40 in 1965. However, those were only minor hits in the wake of "Treat Her Right", which is estimated to have sold over four million copies worldwide, and was a featured song, along with Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" and Steve Cropper's "In the Midnight Hour", in the successful 1991 motion picture, The Commitments.[8]

Chart performance

The song reached No.2 in the United States on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts.[9] The Beatles' "Yesterday" kept "Treat Her Right" from the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, it reached No.8.[10] In the UK, No.30.

Covers

References

  1. "Secondhandsongs.com". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  2. "Huey P. Meaux ~ The Crazy Cajun". Laventure.net. 1929-03-10. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  3. Feldman, Christopher G. (January 2000). Billboard book of number 2 singles - Google Books. ISBN 9780823076956. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  4. "- YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. Archived December 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Roy Head and the Traits Page". Tsimon.com. 2007-10-27.
  7. "Tom Jones treat her right 70s". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  8. "Roy Head and the Traits Page". Tsimon.com. 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 250.
  10. "RPM Top 40 Playsheet - November 1, 1965" (PDF).
  11. "Treat Her Right". Rory Gallagher. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  12. "George Thorogood - Treat Her Right". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. Roffman, Michael (July 25, 2019). "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Soundtrack Detailed". Consequence. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
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