The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers performing at Knott's Berry Farm (L-R) Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley
Background information
Origin	Orange County, California, United States
Genres	Pop, blue-eyed soul
Years active	1962–1971, 1974–1976, 1981–2003, 2016-present
Labels	Moonglow Philles Records Verve Haven Records Rhino (for reissues only) Curb Records
Associated acts	Barry Mann Cynthia Weil Phil Spector
Members	Bill Medley (1962-1968, 1974-1976, 1981-2003, 2016-) Bucky Heard (2016-)
Past members	Bobby Hatfield (1962-1971, 1974-1976, 1981-2003 (his death) Jimmy Walker (1968-1971)

The Righteous Brothers is a musical duo of Bill Medley and (formerly) Bobby Hatfield. They began performing together in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called The Paramours, but adopted the name "The Righteous Brothers" when they embarked on their recording career as a duo. Their most active recording period was in the 1960s and 70s, and although the duo was inactive for some years, Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1981 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal style is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".

Hatfield and Medley have contrasting vocal range that helped them create a distinctive sound as a duet, but also strong vocal talent individually that allowed them to perform as soloists. Medley sang the low parts with his bass-baritone voice, with Hatfield taking the higher register vocals with his countertenor voice.

They had their first hit with the 1964 song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", produced by Phil Spector and often considered one of his finest works. Other notable hits include "Ebb Tide", "Soul and Inspiration", "Rock and Roll Heaven", and in particular, "Unchained Melody". Both Hatfield and Medley also had for a time their own solo careers. In 2016, Medley reformed The Righteous Brothers with Bucky Heard and they continue to perform as a duo.

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. A member of Medley's band who was also in Hatfield's group suggested that they go see each other's show. Later a mutual friend Johnny Wimber (a founder of the Vineyard Movement) brought Hatfield and Medley together to form a new Paramours in 1962. They started performing at a club called John's Black Derby in Santa Ana, and were signed to a small record label Moonglow in 1962. They released a single "There She Goes (She's Walking Away)" in December 1962. However, the Paramours did not have much success and soon broke up, leaving Hatfield and Medley to perform as a duo in 1963. According to Medley, they then adopted the name "The Righteous Brothers" for the duo because black Marines from the El Toro Marine base started calling them "righteous brothers". At the end of a performance, a black U.S. Marine in the audience would shout, "That was righteous, brothers!", and would greet them with "Hey righteous brothers, how you doin'?" on meeting them.