The Righteous Brothers

1962–1964: Beginning

Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley were in different groups before they met – Hatfield was in a group from Anaheim, California called the Variations, and Medley in a group from Santa Ana called the Paramours. Barry Rillera, a member of Medley's band who was also in Hatfield's group, suggested they go see each other's show and perform together. Later, after a member of Paramours left in 1962, Hatfield and Medley joined forces and formed a new Paramours, which included Johnny Wimber (a founder of the Vineyard Movement). They started performing at a club called John's Black Derby in Santa Ana, and were signed to a small record label Moonglow in 1962. They released a single "There She Goes (She's Walking Away)" in December 1962. However, the...

1976–2003: Later career and solo works

Between 1976 and 1981, Hatfield and Medley stopped performing as a duo after the death of Medley's first wife, as he wanted time off to look after his son. They reunited for an anniversary special on American Bandstand in 1981 to perform an updated version of "Rock and Roll Heaven". They resumed touring intermittently, and they recorded a 21st Anniversary Celebration concert in 1983 at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, which was later released on video and was also aired on television.

Unchained Melody

"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret. North composed the music as a theme for Unchained (1955), a prison film.

The version of the song in the film's soundtrack was sung by Todd Duncan. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with the version recorded by the Righteous Brothers in 1965 notable in its own right.

Recording

The song was not originally intended to be released as an A side. As Spector was not especially interested in producing B-sides or album tracks, he left the production to Bill Medley, who had produced the duo before they signed with Spector and Philles. He brought in a similar "wall of sound" instrumental track. Medley said: "Phil came to me and asked me to produce the Righteous Brothers albums because he would have taken too long and it would have cost too much money." By Medley's account, Spector only claimed production credit after it supplanted "Hung on You" as the hit. Early copies of the single did not credit a producer for "Unchained Melody" and only credited Spector as producer of the original single "Hung on You". Later pressings...

Release

"Unchained Melody" was originally released as the B-side of the single "Hung on You" as the follow-up single to "Just Once in My Life". However, "Hung on You" failed to interest radio DJs, who instead chose to play the B-side, "Unchained Melody". According to Medley, producer Phil Spector, who would deliberately place a throwaway song that was not meant to be played on the B-side, was so incensed by DJs choosing to play the B-side that he started to call their radio stations to get them to stop playing "Unchained Melody". He failed, though, and the song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 14 in the UK in 1965.

Re-recording and re-release

"Unchained Melody" reappeared on the US Billboard charts in 1990 after the Righteous Brothers' recording was used in the box-office blockbuster film Ghost. Two versions charted in the US that year – the original and a new recording. According to Medley, he was interested in having the original recording released due to the renewed interest in the song, but was told that licensing issues existed. Although Hatfield's voice was no longer as good as when he first recorded the song, they decided to re-record it for Curb Records. The re-recorded version was released as both a cassette single and a CD single. It received minimal airplay, but sold well, peaking at number 19. The re-recorded version was certified platinum by the RIAA on January 10,...

Reception

The Righteous Brothers' cover of "Unchained Melody" is now widely considered the definitive version of the song. Hatfield's vocal in the original recording in particular is highly praised; it has been described as "powerful, full of romantic hunger, yet ethereal," and a "vocal tour de force", although his later re-recording was noted as "fudging only a bit on the highest notes". The production of their original recording has been described as "epic", and that with "Hatfield's emotion-packed tenor soaring to stratospheric heights, it's a record designed to reduce anyone separated from the one they loved to a "pile of mush".

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers and released as the lone single and title track from their 1965 album of the same name. This version, produced by Spector, is cited by some music critics as the ultimate expression and illustration of his Wall of Sound recording technique.

The record was a critical and commercial success on its release, reaching number one in early February 1965 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The single ranked No. 5 in Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1965 Hot 100 hits – based on combined airplay and sales, and not including three charted weeks in December 1964 – and has entered the UK Top Ten on three occasions.

Background and composition

In 1964, music producer Phil Spector conducted the band at a show in San Francisco where the Righteous Brothers was also appearing, and he was impressed enough with the duo to want them to record for his own label, Philles Records. All the songs previously produced by Spector for Philles Records featured African-American singers, and the Righteous Brothers would be his first white vocal act. However, they had a vocal style, termed blue-eyed soul, that suited Spector.

The Righteous Brothers recording

The song was recorded on September 26, 1964, at Studio A of Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. When Hatfield and Medley went to record the vocals a few weeks after the song was written, all the instrumental tracks had already been recorded and overdubbed. They recorded the vocal many times – Medley sang the opening verse over and over again until Spector was satisfied, and the process was then repeated with the next verse. The recording took over 39 takes and around eight hours over a period of two days.

Reception

Andrew Loog Oldham, who was then the manager of the Rolling Stones and a fan and friend of Spector, chanced upon Spector listening to a test pressing of the song that had just been delivered. Loog Oldham later wrote, "The room was filled with this amazing sound, I had no idea what it was, but it was the most incredible thing I'd ever heard." He added, "I'd never heard a recorded track so emotionally giving or empowering." Later, when Cilla Black recorded a rival version of the same song and it was racing up the British charts ahead of The Righteous Brothers' version, Loog Oldham was appalled, and took it upon himself to run a full-page ad in Melody Maker:

Background

British singer Cilla Black first achieved major chart success by covering Dionne Warwick's newly released American hit "Anyone Who Had a Heart" for the UK market, which gave her a number-one hit in both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart in February 1964, out-performing Warwick's original version, which only peaked at No. 42 in the UK. Black's producer George Martin repeated this strategy with the Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" that had just been released in the US. Black's version is shorter with an abbreviated bridge, of which she said: "I don't want people to get bored". The abridgement also removed the necessity of Black's attempting to match the Righteous Brothers' climactic vocal trade-off.