In 1990, Bobby Hatfield's original recording of "Unchained Melody" was featured in the popular feature film Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. It triggered an avalanche of requests to Top 40 radio stations by fans who had seen the movie to play the 1965 Righteous Brothers' recording. This motivated Polygram (which now owned the Verve/MGM label archives) to re-release the song to Top 40 radio. It became a major hit for a second time, reaching No. 13 on the Hot 100 in 1990.
The duo quickly re-recorded another version of "Unchained Melody" for Curb Records. Both the reissued and the re-recorded songs charted at the same time for several weeks, and the Righteous Brothers made history as the first act to have two versions of the same song in the Top 20 at the same time. The re-recorded "Unchained Melody" hit No. 19 on the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America . This incredible piece of music was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. It was a perfect storm of talent that was responsible for this classic song.
The brilliant songwriting of Mann and Wells, Phil Spector's defining wall of sound and genius production skills, and the astonishing vocal talents of the Righteous Brothers. It all resulted in the perfect pop song and one of the greatest records ever released. It just might be the most recorded pop song of all time outside of Christmas songs and a few novelty pieces and jazz standards. Almost a thousand artists have released this song on vinyl or cd. The Righteous Brothers song "Unchained Melody," was a huge success when it was first recorded by The Righteous Brothers in 1965. The song was a top 10 hit peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
After The Righteous Brothers disbanded in 1968, Medley went on to pursue a solo career. He had several Top 40 hits on the Country charts during the mid 1980s, and his long string of Pop/Rock hits culminated in 1987 with the chart-topping "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" performed as a duet with Jennifer Warnes. Hatfield teamed up with Jimmy Walker of The Knickerbockers using The Righteous Brothers name and recorded one album before disbanding in 1971. The duo reunited again in 1981 under The Righteous Brothers name and continued to record and perform together until Hatfield's passing in 2003.
The next three songs on this Top 10 Righteous Brothers songs list could have been placed in any order. All three of these songs were huge smash hits for Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. Words cannot describe just how beautiful these songs are. First up is the wonderful song "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." The song was released on the album Soul & Inspiration The song "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration," was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It would become The Righteous Brothers second number one single of their career.
It also stands as one of the greatest vocal performances of all time. In 1974, Medley and Hatfield announced their reunion at an appearance on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. They signed with Haven Records, run by producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and distributed by Capitol Records.
Within a few weeks of reforming, they recorded Alan O'Day's "Rock and Roll Heaven", a paean to several deceased rock singers which became a hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. After 1975, however, the Righteous Brothers would not appear in music charts except for re-releases of older songs and compilation albums, some of which were re-recordings of earlier works. Spector commissioned Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to write a song for them, which turned out to be "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". The song, released in late 1964, became their first major hit single and reached No. 1 in February 1965. Produced by Phil Spector, the record is often cited as one of the finest expressions of Spector's Wall of Sound production techniques. It is one of the most successful pop singles of its time, despite exceeding the then-standard length for radio play.
Indeed, according to BMI, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" became the most-played song on American radio and television of the 20th century, with more than eight million airplays by the end of 1999. The Righteous Brothers released three albums under the Moonglow label, one of these and a further compilation album were released after they had joined Phil Spector. They released 12 singles with Moonglow, but only two were moderate hits – "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and "My Babe" from their first album Right Now!.
In August and September 1964, they opened for The Beatles in their first U.S. tour. However, they left before the tour finished as they were asked to appear on a new television show called Shindig! ; they also felt unappreciated by the audience as they were then little known on the East Coast, and the audience demanded to hear the Beatles while they were performing. They returned to Los Angeles to tape the pilot for the show, and would later appear in the show regularly. In October and November 1964, they opened for The Rolling Stones on their American tour.
Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley were in different groups before they met – Hatfield was in a group from Anaheim 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 . 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 Paramours did not have much success and soon broke up, leaving Hatfield and Medley to perform as a duo in 1963. According to Medley, they then adopted the name The Righteous Brothers for the duo because black Marines from the El Toro Marine base started calling them "righteous brothers".
Marine in the audience would shout, "That was righteous, brothers!", and would greet them with "Hey righteous brothers, how you doin'?" on meeting them. Both Hatfield and Medley also had for a time their own solo careers. In 2016, Medley re-formed The Righteous Brothers with Bucky Heard and they continue to perform as a duo. The duo split up in February 1968, a breakup that would last for more than six years, when Medley left to pursue a solo career.
Medley recorded a few solo recordings on several labels, while Hatfield teamed up with singer Jimmy Walker using the Righteous Brothers name on the MGM label. Medley first recorded "I Can't Make It Alone" written by Carole King, but the song failed to make much of an impact. The following single, "Brown Eyed Woman" written by Mann and Weil, performed better. However, neither he nor Hatfield was able to match their previous chart success. After the success of "Unchained Melody", Spector started releasing older songs with the Righteous Brothers, including "Ebb Tide", which reached No. 5.
Hatfield was the only vocal on "Unchained Melody" and "Ebb Tide", and both were songs Bobby Hatfield had performed with his first group, the Variations. The last single released that they recorded with Philles Records was "The White Cliffs of Dover". Although Spector focused his attention in producing singles, a number of albums by the Righteous Brothers released with Philles Records sold well.
Not surprisingly, the pace is picking up for the singer, who lives in Newport Beach with his wife and their two children. He recently cut a note-for-note replica of "Unchained Melody" that has just been released as a single by Curb Records. The idea is to offer radio stations and record buyers a single version of a song that currently is only available on album. Our Top 10 Righteous Brothers Songs list looks back at some of the most memorable pop songs ever released by two astonishing talents. In 1962, singers Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield were performing in a group called the The Paramours. The story told is that one night a group of marines were so blown away by the two singers they started screaming at the stage about how Righteous they sounded.
The Righteous Brothers had several other hit singles with Philles Records in 1965, including "Just Once in My Life" and "Unchained Melody" (originally the B-side of "Hung on You"), both reaching the Billboard Top 10. Later copies of the original 45 release credited Spector as producer when it became a hit. Though Unchained is a Top 40 hit, the big chart numbers have been gained primarily through radio play and not through singles sales. Polydor has re- issued the song only as a scarce seven-inch single (the old "45" format) and not as a cassette single, which is the more popular format with young record-buyers. A long string of hits followed thereafter that also included "Unchained Melody" , "Just Once In My Life" , "Ebb Tide" , and the chart-topping "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" . "Unchained Melody" went on to become the song for which The Righteous Brothers are best known today due to its being featured over the years in numerous films and TV shows.
Continuing with our top 10 Righteous Brothers Songs list we jump from 1962 to 1975. The song "Substitute," was released on the album The Sons of Mrs. Righteous. Nonetheless, it was a great underappreciated song by the Righteous Brothers that would eventually be turned into a big hit by the band Clout in 1978 when it hit number two in the UK. The Righteous Brothers released fourteen albums between their debut album in 1963 and their final record in 1975.
Our top 10 Righteous Brothers songs list looks to present some of their biggest hits. In the late 1970s, Medley once again began to record as a solo artist and had some success in the 1980s. In 1984, he scored country hits with "Till Your Memory's Gone" and "I Still Do", the latter also an adult-contemporary crossover hit.
In late 1987, his duet with Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", which appeared on the soundtrack for Dirty Dancing, topped the Billboard Hot 100. It won them a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. 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. The duo's relationship with Spector however ended in some acrimony; in 1966 they signed with Verve/MGM Records, leading to a lawsuit from Spector, which MGM settled with a $600,000 payment to Spector.
Their next release in 1966, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" was a Phil Spector sound-alike song. The song was first written by Mann and Weil after the success of "Lovin' Feelin'" but not completed, and they finished the song following a request by Medley after the Righteous Brothers moved to Verve. Medley then produced the completed song, and was able to fully simulate the Spector style of production and achieve a similar sound to that of "Lovin' Feelin'".
It quickly became their second No. 1 U.S. hit, staying at the top for three weeks. In 1964, music producer Phil Spector came across the Righteous Brothers when they performed in a show at the Cow Palace in Daly City, where one of Spector's acts, The Ronettes, was also appearing, and he conducted the band for the show. Spector was impressed enough to arrange a deal with Moonglow in early October 1964 allowing him to record and release songs by the Righteous Brothers in the US, Canada and UK under his own label, Philles Records. Prior to this, all the songs Spector produced for Philles Records featured African-American singers; the Righteous Brothers would be his first white vocal group for the label. However, their "blue-eyed soul" vocal style suited Spector. When the Righteous Brothers, a musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, released "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" on November 1964, it was a massive success and they were propelled to stardom.
But they proved that they were more than a one-hit wonder by following up the single with a string of hits that stood the test of time. So Paula had our baby and they said Jennifer Warnes wants to record it with you if she can do it with you. So Jennifer and I actually recorded the song just to work together.
We certainly didn't think the movie was going to do anything, and bam, it just became bigger than life. The movie became overnight a huge monster hit, and the song "Time of My Life," because of where it was in the movie. You know, I've had more success by turning stuff down than I have by trying. The record label erroneously lists "Look At Me" in place of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" plus also the track listing is in the wrong order. The correct order is inside the album gatefold cover as listed above. Listening back to all these amazing songs, its just so stunning how incredible these vocal performances were.
The song "Just Once in My Life," was written by Gerry Goffin,Carole Kingand Phil Spector. The song became a top 10 hit for The Righteous Brothers. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. The song was also covered by The Beach Boys ten years later in 1975. We open up out Top 10 Righteous Brothers Songs list with the duo's first big hit.
The song "Little Latin Lupe Lu," was released in 1962. The song was written by Bill Medley when he was nineteen years old. Medley wrote it about his girlfriend at the time named Lupe Laguna who liked to dance. The song eventually made it onto the Billboard Top 50 and helped launch the careers of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield who would become known as The Righteous Brothers.
Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on November 5, 2003, shortly before he was due to perform at a concert with Bill Medley at Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium. The autopsy report attributed his death to heart failure brought on by cocaine. Bill Medley continued to perform as a solo artist for some time after Hatfield's death, occasionally singing with a screen projection of old film footage of Hatfield. The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called the Paramours, and adopted the name The Righteous Brothers when they embarked on their recording career as a duo.
Their most active recording period was in the 1960s and '70s, and, after several years inactive as a duo, Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1981 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. The music they performed is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul". While Polydor seizes the moment, Unchained Melody is also available on the Ghost soundtrack -- a hastily assembled mishmash on MCA Records released as an afterthought when the movie struck gold. The album ($9.98) is mostly background music, providing the barest platform on which Unchained can rest. Greatest Hits is a compilation album from rock soul duo The Righteous Brothers.
"Rock and Roll Heaven," was a song written as a tribute to a group of rock stars who had passed away. The song was updated many times over the years to include more musicians who had passed on after the song had been released. The incredible song "Rock and Roll Heaven," stands as sort of an outlier hit in the Righteous Brothers catalog.
I would have never thought it was the Righteous Brothers because the feel of the song was so different from all their other recordings. It hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100 making it one of the biggest hits of their career. The song was originally recorded by the band Climax a year earlier in 1973 but failed to do well for Climax. The legendary song "Ebb Tide," was given the royal treatment by The Righteous Brothers in 1965. The song was written in 1953 by Robert Maxwell and Carl Sigman.
It was originally recorded by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra. The song became one of the most covered songs of all time with definite versions done by Frank Sinatra, The Platters and of course The Righteous Brothers. Hands down, the Righteous Brothers were one of the greatest singing duos of all time and this one defines one of their most spectacular moments. Although, it's a statement we will probably wish to make on every other song on this list. The Righteous Brothers Song "On This Side Of Goodbye," was released in 1966. The song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
