This week in Texas music history, the rise of Roy Head
Episodes written by Jason Mellard, Alan Schaefer, and Avery Armstrong
On September 4, 1965, the classic Roy Head and the Traits song “Treat Her Right” first entered the Billboard top 100. Based in San Marcos, Roy Head came up through the Central Texas teen dance circuit, playing hot R&B and developing a frenetic stage presence: gliding across the stage in a sort of proto-moonwalk, dropping to the ground in James Brown tribute, striking poses that seem like some bizarre combo of Northern Soul mod, ballroom Vogue, and fratboy goof.
The Traits had been at it a while. They recorded as early as 1958 while still in high school with San Antonio label TNT. Their regional hits “Summertime Love” and “Live It Up” brought the teens to the attention of Dick Clark’s program American Bandstand. The Traits’ parents wouldn’t let them appear on tv then, but they soon got another shot at national success when notorious producer Huey Meaux brought Roy Head and the Traits to Houston’s iconic SugarHill Recording Studios and local mogul Don Robey. The group recorded “Treat Her Right” in June 1965, and Robey released it on his label BackBeat.
“Treat Her Right” is a slow burn, verses of romantic advice that then explode in a burst of horns and a catchy hey-hey-hey-hey chorus, perfectly accompanied by Head’s acrobatic dancing in live performance. Having lost out on Bandstand earlier, the Traits broke into tv now that they were of age.
Sources:
Andy Bradley and Roger Wood. House of Hits: The Story of Houston’s Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.
