Unchained MEL-O-DY. Ten years earlier, it was written for a movie called "Unchained," and in that year , no less than FOUR different recordings of the song cracked Billboard's HOT 100 chart. But it wasn't until 1965 that Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers recorded THE transcendent version of the song, heard here, that made it his own. And if you have such tin ears that you don't hear it, you have no business doing reaction videos to popular music.
This is a classic and one of the most beloved songs in history. Furthermore, this was one of the few instances in music history when a live performance was actually BETTER than the studio recording. Bobby NAILED IT, and when you see him bite his lip after belting out that last falsetto note, you can tell that he knows he just hit it out of the park. You need to get your hearing checked if this performance didn't touch you. Either that or you are completely without any musical knowledge whatsoever.
I am 81 and have heard several artist before bobby's version and several after. No one comes close to this, Bobby owns it. This version came out as I was headed for Viet Nam. You can feel the loneliness in the words and the way we felt as we were away from our families for one long year. Bill and Bobby always did one solo on each of there albums and while on tour.
They both wanted to do "Unchained", so they flipped a coin. The music was written as the theme for the little-known prison film "Unchained" , hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.
It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers. The movie "Unchained" is about a man in prison and longing for his wife and children. Hoping his wife will still be there when he gets out. So you can now understand the meaning of the song. The movie was not very good, or so my friends told me.
But we were all teenagers so what did we now. Several artists sang it and it made the billboard top 100. But no one can come close to Bobby Hatfield's version. And did it again when it was used in the movie "Ghost" It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by Bobby. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
In 1966, the Righteous Brothers left Spector and signed with Verve/MGM Records, and had a hit with "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration". However the duo broke up in 1968, and Hatfield teamed with singer Jimmy Walker using the Righteous Brothers name on the MGM label. The new partnership released an album but did not have much success. Hatfield recorded a number of singles as a solo artist, such as the self-penned "Hang Ups" and covers of older songs, but "Only You" was his only charted single, peaking at No. 95.
In 1969, Hatfield also appeared in the TV movie The Ballad of Andy Crocker. In 1971, he released a solo album, Messin' in Muscle Shoals, recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals in August 1970. However, MGM was in financial trouble, a scheduled single "The Promised Land"/"Woman You Got No Soul" was not released, and with little promotion the album largely went unnoticed.
This is my first time hearing The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody. I had no idea this song was originally sung by them! Via/ YouTube Young YouTuber, Jayy, filmed herself reacting to The Righteous Brothers' song, "Unchained Melody" for the first time. Jayy watches a performance from 1965 given by Bobby Hatfield.
The Righteous Brothers were a duo, but would sometimes sing together, at other times they would sing a song solo, as in this case. Hatfield performs this song with no hitches at all, hitting more notes in one song than many performers would have hit in an entire concert. The Righteous Brothers were one of the biggest acts of the early 1960s, but despite this many young people have not been exposed to this music before. According to Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield themselves in their interviews over the years, Bobby used to sing Unchained Melody in his pre- Righteous Brothers band, The Variations. Bobby loved that song so much and wanted to record this song as his solo piece on the album.
Phil Spectre allowed each singer to record a solo song on each album. Unchained Melody was intended as an album track and a B side to Spectres' Hung On You. I've watched a lot of reaction videos to this song now. I'm 64 years old, a straight white American male. I don't know why these people don't cry.
I can see that some of them want to--need to--but they fight it. This is one of the most beautiful melodies ever written, and this performance is, by far, the best version ever of this song. I don't know why people don't just let loose and bawl like babies, like I do, every time I hear it. In 1964, they appeared in a show at the Cow Palace near San Francisco and met the music producer Phil Spector, whose group The Ronettes was also in the show. Spector was impressed and signed them to his own label Philles Records.
Their first No. 1 was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," produced by Phil Spector in 1964. Follow-up hits included "Unchained Melody," which was actually a Hatfield solo performance. After the success of "Unchained Melody", Spector then started recording older standards with the Righteous Brothers such as "Ebb Tide", which Hatfield also performed solo, and it reached the Top 5. Both "Unchained Melody" and "Ebb Tide" were songs he had performed with his first group, the Variations. Another two of the last songs the duo recorded with Philles Records, "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "For Sentimental Reasons", were performed solo by Hatfield. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, research etc.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statue that might otherwise be infringing. Non profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. I have been watching approximately 20 to 30 of these reaction videos to this song and every single time I I can,t hold back the tears,,,this has to be the greatest song of all time ever recorded. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. May be this is not your type of song, and I appreciate how polite you were when you tried to explain your view. You also pointed out Bobby had a good voice. This song was originally released in 1955 with 2 different versions and Righteous Brothers covered it 10 years later in 1965.
Therefore you can imagine, It was an old fashion song even for that time in 60's when Bobby sang it. I love this song very much and I think Bobby is a true music God and a true legend. I think this song will continue to play in 50 or more years. Just like the song White Christmas, a true "classic" never out of fashion.
The song has come full circle in Medley's personal life. His wife Paula was pregnant with his daughter McKenna at the time of its recording, and now he brings McKenna on stage to sing the duet with him. However, if you see McKenna up on stage for "Time of My Life," don't expect the "Dirty Dancing" lift. The Righteous Brothers were dubbed, "Blue-Eyed Soul" back in the day. The album cut didn't have him hitting the G4 (G5-?) note at the end.
The album version was at a lower octave. Not sure why but this track is by far the best. This song is 55/yrs old and is as fresh today as it was in 1965. This should serve as a lesson for all young people.
This song will forever endure the test of time. Because, "Class will never go out of Style". A young Youtuber named Jayy filmed a reaction video of hearing "Unchained Melody" for the first time. As the 1965 performance of Bobby Hatfield's singing begins, Jayy is instantly surprised at how impressive his vocals are. Holy cow JJ the world is going to be upset with you.
You didn't fall off your chair reacting to this like the other 50 reaction channels. This song is one of the biggest hits of all time. And this live performance on an NBC TV primetime show, the Andy Williams show, is one of the most remarkable live performances ever captured on video tape. Maybe you're too young to appreciate quality music. The duo then toured extensively all through the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003 by Billy Joel. I have watched a lot of people register their reactions and most are just guy on the street quality. What I enjoyed about your analysis is that it was about the performer and not about you.
You compare favorably with many of the vocal coaches online who are able to break down the performance in terms I can understand. Happy to add you to subscriptions I follow. Most reactors have no idea what they're talking about, relying solely on their personal feelings. Also, The Righteous Brothers were a duo. Bobby Hatfield and his singing partner, Bill Medley, felt this song should be sung solo.
They flipped a coin, and the song went to Bobby. The song began its life as a soundtrack to a prison movie. With the help of The Righteous Brothers, Leslie Nielsen, and some strategically molded clay, it became one of history's greatest love songs. 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. Robert Lee Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer. He and Bill Medley were the Righteous Brothers.
He sang the tenor part for the duo, and sang solo on the group's 1965 recording of "Unchained Melody". Where the 2004 version of the list was dominated by early rock and soul, the new edition contains more hip-hop, modern country, indie rock, Latin pop, reggae, and R&B. More than half the songs here — 254 in all — weren't present on the old list, including a third of the Top 100. The result is a more expansive, inclusive vision of pop, music that keeps rewriting its history with every beat. Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley were a duo. Black DJ in Chicago would play their records, not knowing they were white, and would exclaim "That's RIGHTEOUS, Brother!
" Months later people were shocked to learn they were white. Bobby died several years ago in a motel in Kalamazoo, MI the night before a concert. They are a duo,the other singer Bill was playing the piano,but generally they sing together,this was a solo for Bobby,they were very versatile not only their genre's but singing styles. You are obviously very knowledgeable and know a brilliant performance when you hear it. In 1992, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers issued "Unchained Melody" an award for being the year's most-performed song.
Unchained Melody is just an amazing song done by an amazing singer in Bobby Hatfield. When he died in 2003 at the age of 63 an amazing talent died of one half of a great duo. I have never met a woman that has heard this song sung by The Riotous Brothers that didn't fall in love this man's voice and this song. In the meantime, he's consoling himself with plenty of good fortune on several fronts. He and Hatfield, both turning 50 at summer's end, are the proud owners of a popular Southern California nightclub called The Hop, where '50s, '60s and '70s music takes center stage.
They're touring this summer as the Righteous Brothers -- "Not a reunion," he stressed, "just for fun" -- and he has a new solo album, Blue Eyed Singer, due in August. Medley, like many artists who recorded during the '60s, retains no rights to his work. Bill Medley, half of the '60s blue-eyed soul duo The Righteous Brothers, knows movie themes. Not only did he win a Grammy for I've Had , but this summer he also finds his music central to the plot of another sleeper hit starring Patrick Swayze.
It just became bigger than it had ever been. And it's now one of the biggest things that we do on our show. It's really remarkable what movies and television can do for your songs.
And I thought "Unchained Melody" was perfect for that movie. I mean really, they got the right song. … Kids left the theater and went right into the record store and bought the album and the single. Considered one of the best vocal acts of all time, The Righteous Brothers were introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
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