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Robert Lee Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer. He and Bill Medley were the Righteous Brothers . He sang the tenor part for the duo and sang solo on the group's 1965 recording of " Unchained Melody ".
Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley were in different groups before they met – Hatfield was in a group from Anaheim called the Variations, and Medley in a group from Santa Ana called the Paramours. [10] Barry Rillera, a member of Medley's band who was also in Hatfield's group, suggested they go see each other's show and perform together. [11]
The Righteous Brothers performing at Knott's Berry Farm with Medley on the right and Hatfield on the left. Medley first met his singing partner Bobby Hatfield through Barry Rillera who was in both Hatfield's and Medley's band (the Variations and the aforementioned Paramours, respectively) and asked them to see each other's shows. [10]
American country music versions were released by Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire, Bobby Hatfield and the Statler Brothers. In the UK, the most widely heard versions are the ones by the Platters, Ringo Starr, the band Child and the actor John Alford. In Norway, a version by Stein Ingebrigtsen charted in the Norwegian language.
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 their fourth album, but Hatfield won the coin toss. [44]
Bobby Hatfield sang the lead on this song, and it was one of the last songs that Phil Spector produced for the Righteous Brothers. Originally peaking at number 48 in the UK in January 1966, it was re-issued there as a double A-sided single with the re-release of " You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " in December 1990, reaching number three.
Bobby Hatfield reportedly expressed his annoyance to Spector when he learned that Medley would start the first verse alone and that he had to wait until the chorus before joining in. Prior to this, they would have been given equal prominence in a song. When Hatfield asked Spector just what he was supposed to do during Medley's solo, Spector ...
As the Righteous Brothers, Walker and Bobby Hatfield released one album, Re-Birth (1969), [7] [8] [9] which Walker also co-produced. [2] Walker remained in the duo until their three-year hiatus in 1971. In a 2013 interview, Walker said he had wanted to continue, but Hatfield decided to take a break and broke up the act. [10]