By combining semi-classical technique with traditional black gospel feeling, he brought soul to Great American Songbook singing.

[3] His two most influential recordings, "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Unchained Melody", became Epic's first two number-one hits when they topped the Billboard R&B chart in March 1954 and May 1955, respectively.

At Lincoln High School, he studied commercial art and was gifted enough to place his paintings with a number of New York City galleries.

[5] In February 1947, seventeen-year-old Hamilton took his first big step into secular music, winning a talent contest at the Apollo Theater.

"[2] So, to support himself while he developed the different sound and singing style he wanted,[6] Hamilton worked as an electronics technician during the day, and an amateur heavyweight boxer at night, with a record of six wins and one defeat.

[5] In 1948, Hamilton joined the Searchlight Gospel Singers and also studied light opera, working with New Jersey voice coach J. Martin Rolls for more than a year.

In mid-1953, Hamilton was discovered singing in a Newark, New Jersey night club, The Caravan, by Bill Cook, who became his manager.

[8] In the early 1950s, there were only two black male singers who were widely accepted by white audiences as mainstream pop stars: Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine.

But Perry Como squashed that plan when he announced during afternoon rehearsal that "Walk Alone" was going to be his closing number that night.

That evening, for his second and final number, Hamilton unveiled his gospel-tinged version of "Ebb Tide" before a Soldier Field audience of 82,000.

He returned to the stage to witness that even some of his fellow performers—Nat Cole, Sarah Vaughan and orchestra leader Ray Anthony—had joined in the ovation.

On Saturday night, September 11, 1954, Hamilton made his national television debut on CBS's Stage Show, hosted by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

[17] But the national television appearance that put Hamilton's career on the fast track to crossover success was the one he made on the night of March 6, 1955, when he sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" on CBS's top-rated Ed Sullivan Show.

"[18] Ten days after the Sullivan Show appearance, Epic, in a rushed attempt to cover singer Al Hibbler's version of "Unchained Melody", set up a recording session for Hamilton.

[4] On the heels of his "Unchained Melody" success, Hamilton recorded the following Great American Songbook singles in succession: Vincent Youmans' "Without a Song" (#77 US pop), Jimmy McHugh's "Cuban Love Song", Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Everybody's Got a Home But Me" (#42 US pop), from the musical Pipe Dream, and Frank Loesser's "Somebody Somewhere", from the musical The Most Happy Fella.

[10] In mid-1956, Hamilton, developing what was described as a "lung condition" bordering on tuberculosis, announced an indefinite retirement from show business,[10] citing both physical and mental exhaustion[20] When he resumed his career over a year later, Hamilton could no longer generate hit singles performing pop standards because, overnight, rock and roll had become the record industry's predominant commercial force.

Hamilton was Epic Records' first star,[3] giving the company its first number-one hit of any kind, "You'll Never Walk Alone", which topped the Billboard R&B chart for eight weeks in 1954.

[4] A year later, he gave the label its second number-one hit of any kind when his version of "Unchained Melody" topped the Billboard R&B chart for three weeks.

[32] As a result, the band recorded a UK version of the song which became the anthem for Liverpool Football Club, sung by the crowd before every home game.