The Righteous Brothers Biography

The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform live until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal stylings were sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul." Hatfield and Medley both possessed exceptional vocal talent, with range, control, and tone that helped them create a strong and distinct duet sound (and perform as soloists). Medley sang the low parts with his deep, soulful baritone, with Hatfield taking the higher register vocals with his soaring tenor. They gained their name when an African-American Marine shouted out "That was righteous, brothers" at the end of a show. John Wimber, one of the founding leaders of the Vineyard Movement, played the keyboard in the band.

Their first major hit single was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" 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 standard length for radio play. Indeed, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" remains the most played song in radio history, estimated to have been broadcast over 8 million times to date. A little known fact about this song was that Spector utilized Sonny and Cher as back-up singers. They had several other Spector-produced hit singles in 1965, including "Just Once in My Life," "Unchained Melody," and "Ebb Tide."

In 1974, no longer with Spector, they scored another hit with "Rock and Roll Heaven", a paean to deceased rock singers. A few more minor hits followed, and then the Righteous Brothers were hitless again until 1990, when their original 1965 version of "Unchained Melody" returned to the charts following its inclusion in the movie Ghost. At the same time, the duo released a newly recorded version of "Unchained Melody" on Curb Records, which was certified platinum for sales of one million U.S. copies.

Medley had success (without Hatfield) in 1987 with "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," sung with Jennifer Warnes, from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, earning a Grammy Award. Both Medley and Hatfield also charted with solo singles, although none of them made the Top 40. (One of Medley's minor entries, "Don't Know Much", was a much bigger hit in 1989 when sung as a duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville.)

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2003 by a great admirer of theirs, Billy Joel.

Hatfield died of a cocaine overdose on November 5, 2003. He was found dead at a hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan, half an hour before he was due to perform a concert with Medley at Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium.

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