The Righteous Brothers - Musical Career

Musical Career

John Wimber (then as Johnny Wimber) brought Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley together for the band the Paramours in 1962. 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".

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, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" remains the most played song in radio history, estimated to have been broadcast more than eight million times. Spector used Cher (of Sonny & Cher fame) as a backing singer on this and other recordings.

The Righteous Brothers had several other Spector-produced hit singles in 1965, including "Just Once in My Life", "Unchained Melody" (originally the B-side of "Hung on You"), and "Ebb Tide".

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 U.S. hit, staying on the top for three weeks, but the song failed to reach the Top 10 in the UK. In 1966,before they went their separate ways,and to capitalize on their previous hits,Verve/MGM issued a "Greatest Hits" comp,of which has been modified twice,in 1983 with 10 tracks,then again in 1990 with 2 more tracks.

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 in 1968 for more than six years. Medley recorded a few solo recordings on several labels, while Bobby Hatfield teamed 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 reunited, performing on the Sonny and Cher Hour.