Every song has a backstory, it seems, and I love digging those up! Thanks for the background, Kaili! Such a beautiful song and one that every girl in 1965 was hoping the DJ would play so she could slow dance with her favorite beau. It was never highly rated, and disappeared almost immediately from everyone's memory. Photo taken at Knott's Berry Farm. One of the truly beautiful songs ever written, and their recording of it will always be a classic. Reginald Thomas from Connecticut on April 18, 2018: Nice article! Some very interesting historical info on  While in Daly City in 1964 with one of his groups The Ronettes, music producer Phil Spector happened to catch a performance by The Righteous Brothers. It happened that the duo were booked into a club in Irvine California near the El Toro Marine Base. The song was also recorded by Harry Belafonte later that same year. I was a bit disappointed to learn of its original plea, by a convict, but after all these years it still moves me beyond measure. Lyricist Hy Zaret, who wrote the haunting words to "Unchained Melody," one of the most frequently recorded songs of the 20th century, has died at age 99. Over the last few Al Hibbler  "...it's a record designed to reduce anyone separated from the one they love to a "pile of mush"'. The vocals are wonderful! This was the ultimate make up—and make out—song. Spector immediately approached the guys about coming to work for him and learned they were already under contract with Moonglow. It didn't disappear from the list until the week of October 16th, 1965. I was really surprised about the origin of the song...never knew it existed before The Righteous Brothers! Though The Paramours were signed to a record deal with the Moonglow label, they failed to release anything beyond one single and soon went their separate ways. Medley was with a group called The Paramours, and when a spot opened up in that group, Medley invited Hatfield to audition. I have also archived more information about In recent years, he has sung it as a tribute to Hatfield, who passed away in 2003. has to be this one (9 Mb .mp3) Due to licensing issues, The Righteous Brothers were forced to record a new version of the song, this time on Curb records. The movie version of the song was performed by Todd Duncan, who also had a minor role in the movie. great a gift to lovers as anything ever crooned by Johnny Mathis. The word unchained doesn't appear in the lyrics at all. Question: Did Medley ever try his luck at singing the song? "Unchained Melody" was written by composer Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret. years the internet version of "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" has become all too common. Stirrat wrote the words to "Unchained Melody" in 1936 when he was on a summer scholarship at Yaddo’s Triuna Arts of the Theatre School. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: "I pestered him and pestered him to compose a piano copy for me. North, a composer and accompanist for a modern dancer at the time, was on the staff. Spector insisted on having songs never meant for radio play appear on the B-sides of his releases. As the producer, Medley agreed. Kaili Bisson (author) from Canada on April 18, 2018: So glad you enjoyed this. The guys had a hit with their first release with Spector, a song called "Just Once in My Life" that was penned by Spector, Gerry Goffin and Carole King. This was our wedding song in 1993 as the movie Ghost was our first official date and the song was in the movie Ghost. Still obligated to fulfill the terms of their contract with Moonglow, they recorded three LPs for that label using the new name. As a teen at the time of the Righteous Brothers release I had always imagined it as an plea of someone deployed in NAM! FlourishAnyway from USA on April 19, 2018: I like that reason for being so busy (painting his house). — Tom Ryan, American Hit Radio: A History of Popular Singles From 1955 to the Present. Medley had previously been producing the songs the duo recorded for Moonglow, so he readily agreed to the arrangement. In my unimportant musical opinion, this is the most perfect song sung by the most perfect singer to sing it. Wanting to feature "Hung on You" as the A-side of the 45's release, he chose an older song for the guys to cover for the B-side. An old 45 recording of "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers, By Philles Records (http://www.45cat.com/record/ph129) [Public domain], via Wikimed. The part that Hatfield re-recorded? I real love the song.I can never explain the emotions it bears.splendid!! But talk about "How to write and sing a Song" this is surely the number ONE example! by the incredible Denver vocal group, (died 2001) has also been archived by me. Kaili Bisson (author) from Canada on March 13, 2019: I'm with you Jerry, this is a beautiful song...timeless! He is deeply conflicted and must decide whether to behave himself behind bars and serve out his sentence or try to escape so he can see his wife, who he loves deeply and misses so very much. Kaili Bisson (author) from Canada on June 05, 2019: Agreed, it is a very emotional song. Into the studio they went to record the song. It’s kinda like a “I have to wash my hair” type of reason. The Righteous Brothers wanted to re-release the song because of the renewed interest caused by the movie. After the tracks had been laid down, Hatfield asked if he could make a change. Zaret was originally not interested in helping North with the lyrics for the song, but North kept after him and Zaret finally agreed. The song became known as the "Unchained Melody" because it came from the film "Unchained". North composed the score for the film and was then asked to write a theme song. Love the song. Both the book and the movie follow the story of a man serving time in a medium-security prison. When song writer North first called lyricist Zaret for help with the song's lyrics, Zaret replied he was too busy painting his house. Answer: Though Medley's voice is not the one you hear in the original recording, he has indeed performed the song. "Unchained Melody" was written by composer Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret. Kaili Bisson (author) from Canada on April 19, 2018: That's what I thought too when I read that Flourish. This way, you get two of their best. Undeterred, he negotiated a deal with Moonglow that gave him the US, UK and Canadian rights to songs he produced with The Righteous Brothers for his own label, Philles Records (photo below). Todd Duncan, who sang the song in the movie, was the first African-American opera singer to appear with what was otherwise an all-white ensemble in the New York City Opera Company. The song saw a massive resurgence in popularity again in 1990 when it was used as the love theme in the movie Ghost, featuring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. There is a great compilation CD available called The Best of the Righteous Brothers: 20th Century Masters Millennium Collection that includes this song, plus "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." Hatfield and Medley flipped to see who would get to sing solo on "Unchained Melody" and Hatfield won the toss. Kaili Bisson (author) from Canada on February 22, 2019: You are so welcome Bill. When the duo joined the Phillies label, Spector asked Medley if he would produce The Righteous Brothers albums so that Spector could focus on churning out singles. The Righteous Brothers. The plaintive, soaring line "I need your love". The purpose of this archive is not to steal, but rather to preserve. Arguably, this line made the song what it was. The song made its debut at #72 on The Billboard Hot 100 the week of July 17th, 1965 and steadily rose up the chart, peaking in the number four spot the week of August 28th. Righteous! Both the original version and the re-recorded version actually appeared on The Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, making The Rigteous Brothers the very first group to have two versions of the same song charting in the top 20 at the same time. Thank you for sharing all the history this was very interesting to learn. And so it was that "Unchained Melody", a hit form a decade earlier, was covered by Medley and Hatfield. A total of four versions of the song made it to the Top 40 in 1955. It was there that he met North, who composed the music. Hibbler's version of the song hit the number one position on the R&B charts in 1955, as did a version by Roy Hamilton. The song was originally written as part of a score for a 1955 movie called "Unchained" which was based on a book published by Kenyon Judson Scudder in 1952. Thank you for the wonderful read and explanation of the origin of this song. For their followup, Spector asked a couple of the song writers in his stable to come up with the duo's next hit and "Hung on You" was the result. Photo courtesy Orange County Archives, (CC by 2.0), via Flickr. You don't have to go looking for the original recording to hear this lovely song. Zaret was originally not interested in helping North with the lyrics for the song, but North kept after him and Zaret finally agreed. Information about the song I never New before. The most inspiring version of Unchained Melody Il Divo. Here are the Jump to it here. And so it was that the the duo known as The Paramours soon became The Righteous Brothers. Two different versions of the song were released to coincide with the movie's release; an orchestral version and one with the lyrics performed by Al Hibbler.