Australian singles chart:
Unchained Melody entered the Kent charts on 7 August 1965 and peaked at #3. The song was #44 on the Top 100 of 1965.
Album:
The song is on Just Once in My Life which entered the Kent album charts on 22 May 1965 and peaked at #68. The album Unchained Melody entered the Kent album charts on the same date as the single, 7 August 1965, and this one peaked at #3.
Songwriters:
Alex North, Hy Zaret
Record label of Australian release:
Festival
Wikipedia:
Unchained Melody was written by Alex North (music) and Hy Zaret (lyrics). North wrote the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the version in the movie.
The best-known version of Unchained Melody was recorded by the duo The Righteous Brothers for Philles Records in 1965. The lead vocal was performed solo by Bobby Hatfield, who later recorded other versions of the song credited solely to him. According to his singing partner Bill Medley, they had agreed to do one solo piece each per album. Both wanted to sing Unchained Melody for this album, but Hatfield won the coin toss.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unchained_Melody
Unchained Melody appeared in the Australian charts three times before the Righteous Brothers: Les Baxter & his Orchestra (1955), Al Hibbler (1955) and John Perry (1965). The first two were orchestral.
Songfacts:
The famous climax of this song where Bobby Hatfield sings the high “I need your love” line wasn’t how the song was written. In a Songfacts interview with Bill Medley, he explained that Hatfield did two takes of the song, then left. He would often reconsider his performance and come back later to change it, and that’s what he did on this track, returning to ask Medley if he could make an edit. This was no easy task, since with a maximum of four tracks to work with, you had to record over part of the original take, but Medley accommodated and Hatfield delivered that soaring vocal line.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/the-righteous-brothers/unchained-melody
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
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