Amongst a myriad of choices for the fifth and final ‘best’ song of the 60s, considering all…it’s tough not to pick Bobby Hatfield and his Righteous Brothers rendition of Unchained Melody.
When a reader wrote recently to ask my opinion of the five best songs of the 60s I realized…there’s no such thing as the five best. Just my, or your, five favorites is the best that anyone can do.
There are simply too many songs, and simply too many artists – groups.
How can you leave out the Beatles?
How can you not include Petula Clark?
How can you skip Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?
Or Connie Francis….?
So I’ve given you four of my personal favorites from…The Chiffons, The Supremes, Del Shannon, and The Monkees…which leaves a huge opportunity for a finale. And again, how do you not pick some of the songs amongst the hundreds selected for years by the industry critics?
But it does bring us to #5, with consideration of Clark (Downtown), Vallie (Let’s Hang On), and the Beatles (Can’t Buy Me Love), and one of my best stories about a huge one-hit wonder released by an unknown named Diane Renay (Navy Blue, 1964). For another time, there is no better story than Diane Renay’s.
An older Bobby Hatfield, as he appeared with the Righeous Brothers in the 80s.
But considering everything – song, performance, popularity, and longevity – the fifth of our favorites, and perhaps the best of that era, has to be The Righteous Brothers’ recording of Unchained Melody, released in March of 1965 on Phillies Records.
The Righteous Brothers were a duo consisting of Bill Medley and a tenor named Bobby Hatfield, who would be remembered for being the best falsetto performer of his era, and possibly all-time.
The song itself, was written back in the mid-50s by a song writer named Hy Zaret as the sound track for a film entitled Unchained. No one remembers the movie, and for good reason.
But a lot of people remember the song, later released as Unchained Melody, although there is no mention of a chain anywhere in the lyrics.
One of the most captivating melodies in the history of pop music, it’s been recorded by just about every major singer you can name, including Elvis.
But it was the Righteous Brothers, in 1965, who had the most lasting success with their version. Both Medley and Hatfield wanted to sing it as a solo, and flipped a coin to see who would get the honor. Hatfield won.
His performance is one for the ages. There have been many popular falsetto voices over the decades, including Frankie Valli, Jay Black (Jay and The Americans) and The Bee Gees, but none can touch Bobby Hatfield’s live performance of Unchained Melody (above). His range, pitch, and ability to bend a note is inimitable, and the song immediately became a #1 hit, despite being the B side of the 45 rpm. Hung On You, which no one ever heard, was the A side.
The song, ironically, was not the best-known of the Righteous Brothers performing as a duet. That would belong to You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.
But it absolutely became the song for which Bobby Hatfield was known for, and one that countless others tried to emulate. But no one could touch him.
The Righteous Brothers still exist in the person of Bill Medley, but Bobby Hatfield died in his hotel room in 2003, prior to a performance with Medley at Western Michigan University. And more recently Medley announced he would quit performing in 2024, at age 84.
Enjoy, if you will, as good as it got with popular music tunes in the 60s, maybe ever…Bobby Hatfield’s performance of Unchained Melody.
The Dave Arbogast family of dealerships is the official transportation source for Press Pros Magazine.com.