Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers were Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, two voices that shouldn't have fit and fit perfectly: Medley's rumbling bass-baritone down in the cellar, Hatfield's tenor soaring up where the angels live. They first sang together in 1962 as part of a five-piece called the Paramours in the Los Angeles area, and when they pared it down to a duo, the name stuck. The phrase "blue-eyed soul" is thought to have been coined for them by Philadelphia DJ Georgie Woods.

Their breakthrough came in late 1964 with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", a Phil Spector production that builds like a thunderstorm and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. "Just Once in My Life" and their take on "Ebb Tide" followed, and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" went to number one in 1966. Their version of "Unchained Melody", with Hatfield wringing out every note, came roaring back years later after turning up in the movie Ghost.

They drifted in and out of solo careers, scored a comeback with "Rock and Roll Heaven" in 1974, and reunited in 1981, singing together until Hatfield's death in 2003, the same year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them. In 2016 Medley revived the name with Bucky Heard.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.