The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal stylings were sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul". Medley and Hatfield both possessed exceptional vocal talent, with range, control and tone that helped them create a strong and distinctive duet sound and also to perform as soloists. Medley sang the low parts with his deep, soulful bass-baritone, with Hatfield taking the higher register vocals with his soaring tenor. They adopted their name in 1962 while performing together in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called The Paramours. [1], which featured John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Movement, on keyboards. At the end of one particular performance, a black Marine in the audience shouted, "That was righteous, brothers!" [2], prompting the pair to adopt the name when they embarked on a career as a duo.

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Musical career

The Righteous Brothers started their recording career on the small Moonglow label in 1963 with two albums and two moderate hits: "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and "My Babe". Both songs received airplay, but their first major hit single was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" on the Philles label in 1965.

Produced by Phil Spector, the record is often cited as one of the peak expressions of Spector's Wall of Sound production techniques. It was one of the most successful pop singles of its time, despite exceeding the then standard length for radio play. Indeed, according to BMI ^[3], "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" remains the most played song in radio history, estimated to have been broadcast more than eight million times. A little known fact is that the duo were never actually signed to Philles; they remained under contract as artists to Moonglow and were leased to Spector for recording. Spector used Cher (of Sonny & Cher fame) as a backup singer on this and other recordings.

The Righteous Brothers had several other Spector-produced hit singles in 1965, including "Just Once in My Life", "Ebb Tide" and "Unchained Melody" (originally the B-side of "Hung on You" ^[4]). There is supposition that "Unchained Melody" was actually produced by Bill Medley, who was used by Spector to occasionally supervise tracks, but this has never been confirmed.

However, the singers did not get along well with Spector personally and their contract was sold on to Verve/MGM Records in 1965. Their next release in 1966, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" was a Phil Spector sound-alike song, produced by Bill Medley, who was able to fully simulate the Spector style of production. It was written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann who had co-written "Loving Feeling" with Spector. Medley also used the same arranger, Jack Nitzsche. It quickly became their second #1 US hit, staying on the top for three weeks, but the song failed to reach the British Top 10.

After a few more top 40 hits, including "He" and "Go Ahead And Cry", their popularity began to decline. Even a collaboration with former Motown a&r chief, 'Mickey' Stevenson failed to work. They eventually split up for more than seven years. Medley recorded a few solo recordings on several labels, whilst Bobby Hatfield teamed up briefly with another singer, Jimmy Walker (drummer and one of the singers of the Knickerbockers, of "Lies" fame), using the Righteous Brothers' name, but neither he nor Medley was able to achieve any significant level of success. In 1974, Medley and Hatfield re-united, performing on the Sonny and Cher Hour .

Later career and going solo

In 1974, they signed with Haven Records, run by producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, and distributed by Capitol Records. They scored another hit with the Lambert/Potter produced "Rock and Roll Heaven", a paean to several deceased rock singers; Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Otis Redding, Jim Croce and Bobby Darin are among those mentioned (Croce and Darin died within three months of each other in late 1973, shortly before the song was released): it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, but failed to chart in the UK. It was updated in 1990 to reflect the deaths of Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, Dennis Wilson, John Lennon and Roy Orbison. Several more minor hits on Haven followed, and then the Righteous Brothers found themselves "hitless" again until 1990, although they toured frequently.

Medley also had solo success: In 1984, he scored country hits with "Till Your Memory's Gone" and "I Still Do" (which crossed over to the adult contemporary charts and later became a "cult" hit with the Carolina Beach/Shag dance club circuit); and 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 and earned a Grammy Award and Oscar. He also scored a moderate UK hit in 1988 with a version of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". One of Medley's minor entries, "Don't Know Much", was a long running #1 Adult Contemporary & #2 Pop hit in 1989/1990 as a Grammy-winning duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville.

In 1990, the original recording of "Unchained Melody" was featured in the hit Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore-Whoopi Goldberg (Oscar winner - Best Supporting Actress) movie "Ghost" and caused an avalanche of requests to Top 40 radio by fans who had seen the movie. This motivated Polygram (who now owned the Verve/MGM label archives) to re-release the song to Top 40 radio where it became a major hit for a second time (their second UK #1) and a greatest hits CD collection called "The Very Best of The Righteous Brothers...Unchained Melody." ^[5] was re-issued. The group quickly re-recorded a cover version for Curb Records which also made the charts, and the re-recorded version appears on the budget priced CD "The Best of The Righteous Brothers." ^[6]

The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2003. In 2008, The Righteous Brothers 21st Anniversary television special, filmed at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in 1983, aired on numerous Public Television stations throughout the United States. Bill Medley is currently performing in Branson / Missouri ^[7]

Hatfield death

Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan on November 5, 2003, half an hour before he was due to perform a concert with Bill Medley at Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium. The cause of his death was attributed to cocaine and not simply, as first suspected, heart failure, according to the autopsy report. ^[8]

US and UK hit singles

Righteous Brothers

• 1963: "Little Latin Lupe Lu" - #49 US
• 1963: "My Babe" - #75 US (re-charted in 1965 at #101 US)
• 1964: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - #1 US , '''#1 UK
• 1965: "Bring Your Love to Me" - # 83 US / "Fannie Mae" - #117 US
• 1965: "Just Once in My Life" - #9 US
• 1965: "You Can Have Her" - #67 US
• 1965: "Justine" - #85 US
• 1965: "Unchained Melody" - #4 US, #14 UK / "Hung on You" - #47 US
• 1965: "Ebb Tide" - #5 US, #48 UK
• 1966: "Georgia On My Mind" - #62 US
• 1966: "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" - #1 US (Gold), #15 UK
• 1966: "He" - #18 US / "He Will Break Your Heart" [a.k.a. "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)"] - #91 US
• 1966: "Go Ahead and Cry" - #30 US
• 1966: "On This Side of Goodbye" - #47 US
• 1966: "White Cliffs of Dover|The White Cliffs of Dover" - #21 UK
• 1967: "Melancholy Music Man" - #43 US
• 1967: "Stranded in the Middle of No Place" - #72 US
• 1969: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (re-issue) - #10 UK
• 1974: "Rock and Roll Heaven" - #3, written by Alan O'Day
• 1974: "Give It to the People" - #20
• 1974: "Dream On" - #32
• 1977: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (re-issue) - #42 UK
• 1990: "Unchained Melody" (re-issue) - #13 (plus Adult Contemporary #1 ) US, #1 UK
• 1990: "Unchained Melody" (new 1990 recording for Curb Records) - #19 US (Platinum)
• 1990: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" / "Ebb Tide" (re-issue) - #3 UK

NOTE: "Bring Your Love To Me"/"Fannie Mae," "You Can Have Her," "Justine" and "Georgia On My Mind" were older recordings released as singles in the U.S. by the Moonglow label to cash in on the duo's success on Philles (1964-65) and Verve (1966-67), which explains their relatively low chart positions.

Bill Medley

• 1968: "I Can't Make It Alone" - #95 US
• 1968: "Brown Eyed Woman" - #43 US
• 1968: "Peace, Brother, Peace" - #48 US
• 1981: "Don't Know Much" - #88 US
• 1982: "Right Here and Now" - #58 US
• 1987: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" with Jennifer Warnes - #1 US (Pop and AC) (Gold), #6 UK
• 1988: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" - #25 UK

Bobby Hatfield

• 1969: "Only You (And You Alone)" - #95 US

Discography References

• Billboard Top Pop Singles by Joel Whitburn
• GWR British Hit Singles and Albums (2004 edition), pgs. 360 and 461

References

1. The Paramours
2. "That was righteous, brothers!"
3. BMI
4. Unchained Melody at Songfacts
5. The Very Best of The Righteous Brothers...Unchained Melody
6. The Best of The Righteous Brothers
7. [1]
8. New York Times Online " The Pop Life; Drugs, Demons: A Man In a Mask"