We've lost that Lovin' Feelin'
Thu, 2003-11-06 10:29
#1
We've lost that Lovin' Feelin'
Singer Bobby Hatfield, of the chart-topping duo the Righteous Brothers, died on Wednesday at the age of 63, his manager has said.
Hatfield was found dead at a hotel in Western Michigan, half an hour before he was due to perform at a concert with singing partner Bill Medley.
The US pair had their first British number one in 1965 with You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. The song was said to be the most played song in radio history.
They also topped the chart with Unchained Melody in 1990.
The group's manager David Cohen said: "It's a shock, a real shock."
He said Medley, who Hatfield had started the group with 42 years ago, was "broken up".
From BBC website.
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andrew pack
This is one of the songs that gnaws at me.
"You never close your eyes, any more when I kiss your lips"
How would he know that, unless he too has his eyes open - and it is a condemnation of her having lost that loving feeling, citing eyes-open during kissing as a sign. So both of them have lost the feeling. I'm never sure whether this is an example of extreme subtlety in song-writing or whether that sub-meaning escaped them.
A belting song though - despite the melancholy it manages to be triumphant and uplifting and hopeful.
And despite the many people who have butchered Unchained Melody since, the song itself is a masterpiece - you don't realise till you listen to it just how haunting and tormented it is.
Buddha
Aah but maybe he secretly video-recorded them snogging, and noticed the eyes open on scrutiny of playback. Unlikely in the sixties, I'll grant you, before camcorders took off, though someone reasonably well off like him may have had a cine-camera. Or maybe a friend pointed it out. If that's the case, that friend sounds a bit of a shitstirrer, I'd say.
On Unchained, you know that bit where he goes, I-hi-hi neeeeeeeeeeeHEEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED YOUR LOVE!
We take it for granted for now, but HOW he nailed that note. Very brave. How do you do mundane things like bringing in the milk in the morning after you've achieved something like that?
martin_t
i suspect he was cheered by the fact that that song will last forever in karoake hell....
MissiLadyDragon
I seem to remember reading somewhere in one of my books on popular music that in fact the song was performed by only one of the 'brothers' as the other one couldn't be arsed to turn up. I can't remember which one it was though, so sooner than run the risk of being told I'm a know-nothing I decline to say which one.
Tony Cook
Karaoke hell?
I can't sing a note but am inclined to perform whenever I spot a karaoke machine. As this is normally on a very bad night out when things are in the out of hand mode I am known, indeed in some parts, renowned for my rendition of My Way upon the karaoke floor. If I am not then subsequently torn to pieces but people realise that this is irony taken to its ultimate limit then I will do Unchained Melody as an encore. I'm told it's very funny but I can't remember.
Laugh with or laugh at?
Who gives a...