You'll Never Walk Alone

"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a song from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Broadway musical Carousel. It is sung in two places in the second act. After the death of the main male character, Billy Bigelow, his wife, Julie Jordan, recalls a song she learned in school about persevering in the face of life's difficulties. She begins to sing it, but can't continue, and it is taken up by her cousin Nettie Fowler. In the musical's final scene, it is sung by a chorus of students at a graduation ceremony. It is a simple, anthemic song written for a big soprano voice. Hammerstein's lyric is reassuring and uplifting, inspirational without being specifically religious, and Rodgers' music builds to a powerful climax. Carousel opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, and, shortly after, Decca Records recorded an original Broadway cast album that concluded with a performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone" by John Raitt (who played Billy Bigelow), Christine Johnson (who played Nettie Fowler), Jan Clayton (who played Julie Jordan), and the chorus. The album became a number one best-seller during the summer of 1945. Shortly after, Frank Sinatra released a single containing two songs from the show, "If I Loved You" on one side and "You'll Never Walk Alone" on the other; both made the Top Ten. "You'll Never Walk Alone" went on to become a much-performed standard. Roy Hamilton scored a number one hit on the R&B charts with it in 1954. Of course, it was sung in the 1956 film version, in which Claramae Turner played Nettie. Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles emphasized the song's gospel implications in a 1963 recording that made the Top 40 of both the pop and R&B charts, and subsequent chart singles were released by Gerry and the Pacemakers (1965), Elvis Presley (1968), and the Brooklyn Bridge (1969) to add to hundreds of other recordings.