Roy Head (1941-2020) formed Roy Head and The Traits in San Marcos, Texas, in 1957. The band released singles starting in 1959 with some local success in their home state, adding a couple of saxophone players and a trumpet player along the way.
"Treat Her Right" was much more successful elsewhere than it was in Toronto, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #8 in Canada nationally and selling more than four million copies. It has been covered over 20 times, including Bruce Springsteen in live performance.
Head and The Traits had a few other songs reach the lower parts of the Billboard pop chart in 1965 and 1966. In the 1970s, Head started reaching the country chart regularly as a solo artist, placing 24 songs on it between 1974 and 1985, three of which made the top 20. His original band got together for reunions in 2001 and 2007.
Created March 13, 2026.