He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for The Hollies later that year and again for Neil Diamond in 1970. It has been recorded by many artists in subsequent years. The Hollies' and Rufus Wainwright's versions of the song were featured in the film "Zoolander". Scott and Russell had been introduced to each other by Johnny Mercer, at a California nightclub. Although Russell was dying of lymphoma and the pair met in
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother as best she could a boy younger, but it seemed almost as big as she herself, when one remarked to her how heavy he must be for her to carry, when instantly came the reply: 'He's na heavy. He's mi brither.'" The first editor of "Kiwanis" magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column in September 1924 carrying the title "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", the first use of the phrase exactly as it is rendered in the song title. In the 1940s, the words, adapted as "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother", were taken as a slogan for Boys