Bobby Hatfield

Bobby Hatfield
Hatfield (Left) as part of the Righteous Brothers
Background information
Birth name	Robert Lee Hatfield
Born	(1940-08-10)August 10, 1940 Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	November 5, 2003(2003-11-05) (aged 63) Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Blue-eyed soul
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1961–2003 (his death)
Associated acts	The Righteous Brothers Bill Medley

Robert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer, best known as one half of the Righteous Brothers. He sang the tenor part for the duo, but his most recognizable work is his 1965 recording of "Unchained Melody" which he performed as a solo.

Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Hatfield moved with his family to Anaheim, California, when he was four. He attended Anaheim High School, where he played football and baseball, and was co-captain of the basketball team. He was student body president in the 1957-1958 school year, graduating in 1958. He briefly considered signing as a professional ballplayer, but his passion for music led him to pursue a singing career while still attending high school. He eventually encountered his singing partner, Bill Medley, while attending California State University, Long Beach. Hatfield is an alumnus of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Bobby Hatfield initially was in a group from Anaheim called the Variations. In 1962, Hatfield joined force with Medley who was in a group called the Paramours, and formed a five-member group using the same name Paramours. They first performed at a club called John's Black Derby in Santa Ana. Later they performed as a duo and named their singing act The Righteous Brothers. They were often told they sounded like African-American gospel singers", and chose the name after black Marines remarked of their singing, "that's righteous, brothers" and called them "righteous brothers" Their first charted single as the Righteous Brothers was "Little Latin Lupe Lu" released under the label Moonglow Records, and they appeared regularly on the television show Shindig!. Hatfield also recorded as solo artist with Moonglow and released an uncharted single, "Hot Tamales" / "I Need A Girl".

In 1964, they appeared in a show in Cow Palace, San Francisco and met the music producer Phil Spector, whose group The Ronettes was also in the show. Spector was impressed and signed them to his own label Philles Records. Their first No. 1 was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," produced by Phil Spector in 1964. Follow-up hits included "Unchained Melody," which was actually a Hatfield solo performance. After the success of "Unchained Melody", Spector then started recording older standards with the Righteous Brothers such as "Ebb Tide", which Hatfield also performed solo, and it reached the Top 5. Both "Unchained Melody" and "Ebb Tide" were songs had performed with his first group, the Variations. Another two of the last songs the duo recorded with Philles Records, "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "For Sentimental Reasons", were also performed solo by Hatfield.