The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called the Paramours, and adopted the name The Righteous Brothers when they became a duo. Their most active recording period was in the 1960s and '70s, and, after several years inactive as a duo, Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1981 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. The music they performed is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".
Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
HerbAlpert is an American trumpeter who led Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Throughout his career, Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the Billboard 200 chart, five of which became No. 1 albums ; while also achieving 14 platinum albums and 15 gold albums. Alpert is the only musician to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist.
Clarence George Carter is an American blues singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away", "Back Door Santa", "Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986).
Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. known as Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and "Palisades Park".
Jane Morgan is an American former singer. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold records. She was a frequent nightclub and Broadway performer, and also appeared numerous times on American television, both as a singer and as a dramatic performer.
James Jones was an American singer-songwriter who moved to New York City while a teenager. According to Allmusic journalist Steve Huey, "best known for his 1960 R&B smash, 'Handy Man', Jones sang in a smooth yet soulful falsetto modeled on the likes of Clyde McPhatter and Sam Cooke."
James Nelson, known as Jimmy "T99" Nelson, was an American jump blues and rhythm and blues shouter and songwriter. With a recording career that spanned over 50 years, Jimmy "T99" Nelson became a distinguished elder statesman of American music. His best known recordings are "T-99 Blues" and "Meet Me With Your Black Dress On". Nelson notably worked with Duke Robillard and Otis Grand.
William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a number of the duo's songs, including "Unchained Melody" and "Soul and Inspiration".
Marvin Earl Johnson was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.
Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961 respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in United States in the 1970s with a string of top ten country hits, several of which were number one hits, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "The King Of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his uptempo rock-influenced style of country music. His most recent release is the song "Paint Your Toes".
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. The song has won a number of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
James Albert Bowen is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, Mel & Nancy.
Eugene Booker McDaniels was an American singer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and number five with "Tower Of Strength," both hits in 1961. He had continued success as a songwriter with titles including "Compared to What" and Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love".
Dee Clark was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song "Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961.
Russ Regan was an American record executive who was President of both UNI Records and 20th Century Records and was vice-president of A&R at Motown. Regan is the rare executive to have seen No. 1 hits in four successive decades.
Dodie Stevens is an American rock and pop singer. She is best known for her 1959 song "Pink Shoe Laces." It debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Stevens was one day short of 13 years old, and eventually peaked at number 3.
Ronald Dyson was an American soul and R&B singer and actor.
Francis Charles Chacksfield was an English pianist, organist, composer, arranger, and conductor of popular light orchestral easy listening music, who had great success in Britain and internationally in the 1950s and early 1960s.
