"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" | ||||
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Single by the Righteous Brothers | ||||
from the album Soul and Inspiration | ||||
B-side | "B-Side Blues" | |||
Released | February 26, 1966 | |||
Recorded | Late 1965 | |||
Genre | Pop, rock and roll, blue-eyed soul | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Verve | |||
Songwriter(s) | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | |||
Producer(s) | Bill Medley | |||
The Righteous Brothers singles chronology | ||||
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"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" is a song by American pop duo the Righteous Brothers. It was the group's first hit after leaving their long-time producer Phil Spector. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who also wrote the group's first hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" along with Phil Spector. It is the title track of their album. [1] The single peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 single for 1966. [2]
The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, part of the legendary Brill Building pop machine in New York City. [3] They first began writing it following the success of the Righteous Brothers' first single with Phil Spector, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", which they also wrote. However, the song was not completed, as they thought it sounded too much like "Lovin' Feelin", [4] and Spector chose instead to record Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Just Once in My Life" as the duo's second single. [5]
After leaving Spector's Philles Records in late 1965, the Righteous Brothers moved to the mostly jazz-oriented Verve label. Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers then asked Mann about the incomplete "Soul and Inspiration" that the songwriters had played for Medley when they first started writing it, and asked them to complete the song. Mann and Weil complied, and the Righteous Brothers then recorded the finished song in late 1965. [4] [6]
The song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche, who had arranged many of Phil Spector's records, [7] and Medley produced the song in a style like the sound of the group's early hits with Spector. Medley was able to imitate Spector's "Wall of Sound" technique with reverbing pop-orchestration and a soaring female backup choir. Some of the session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, such as keyboard player Don Randi, pianist Michel Rubini and bassist Jimmy Bond, were hired for the recording. [7] Other musicians on this record included Art Munson on guitar, Michael Patterson on piano, Drew Johnson on drums, Bill Baker (who also arranged the song) on sax, Dick Shearer on trombone, and Bill King, Sanford Skinner and Bob Faust on trumpets. [8] It used a string section as well, and there is a spoken section by Bobby Hatfield in the bridge.
The song was released on February 26, 1966, [9] and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed at the top for three weeks. [10] This was, however, the end of the group's peak in popularity. Although they entered the charts with their next single, the religiously-oriented "He" (No. 18 US), before briefly splitting in 1968, they did not crack the top-10 again until reuniting in 1974 with "Rock and Roll Heaven", an ode to deceased musicians. [1]
In 1969, the vocal group the Blossoms covered the tune with Righteous Brothers member Bill Medley producing.
In 1972, the reggae artist Paddy Corea covered the tune instrumentally for the UK label Trojan Records. The song is available on the 1995 cover-compilation Keep on Running. [11]
In 1973, Doc Severinsen recorded an instrumental version of this song on his Trumpets & Crumpets & Things album.
In 1978, Donny and Marie Osmond went to No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 18 Easy Listening with their mild pop version.
In 1990, the country music group the Oak Ridge Boys recorded a cover version for the soundtrack of the film My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys . This version peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. [12]
Bill Medley himself covered the song in 1994 as a duet with fellow Phil Spector client Darlene Love.
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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".
Robert Lee Hatfield 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".
"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 prison film Unchained (1955), 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.
Other People's Songs is a cover album by Erasure.
Barry Mann is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.
Cynthia Weil is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers, whose version was also produced by Spector and is cited by some music critics as the ultimate expression and illustration of his Wall of Sound recording technique. The record was a critical and commercial success on its release, reaching number one in early February 1965 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The single ranked No. 5 in Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1965 Hot 100 hits – based on combined airplay and sales, and not including three charted weeks in December 1964 – and has entered the UK Top Ten on an unprecedented three occasions.
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 "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration".
"Just Once in My Life" is a song written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Phil Spector. The song was released by the Righteous Brothers in 1965 and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Don't Know Much" is a song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow. Mann was the first to record the song in 1980, gaining a minor chart hit in the US. The song was made famous when it was covered as a duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville in 1989. Their version was a worldwide success, topping the Irish Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 in several territories.
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.
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Harvey Phillip Spector was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a "Wagnerian" approach to rock and roll. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s.
To capture the sensation of teen-idol Shaun Cassidy, Warner Bros. Records released a live album of his 1979 concert tour named That's Rock 'N' Roll Live. The album featured songs from his four studio albums. The album also featured a cover of The Righteous Brothers' hit song, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".
Four In Blue is a 1969 album by the Motown R&B group The Miracles, issued on the label's Tamla Records subsidiary in the U.S., and the Tamla-Motown label elsewhere in the world,. It was the final Miracles album of the 1960s. It reached #78 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart, and reached the Top 10 of Billboard's R&B Album chart, peaking at #3, despite the fact that no singles were released from this album in the U.S. or the UK.
"Dream On" is a song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. In 1974, The Righteous Brothers had a hit version, reaching No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 6 on the U.S. and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield alternate lead vocals.
"Walking in the Rain" is a song written by Barry Mann, Phil Spector, and Cynthia Weil. It was originally recorded by the girl group the Ronettes in 1964 who had a charting hit with their version. Jay and the Americans released a charting hit cover of the song in 1969. The song has since been recorded by many other artists over the years, including the Walker Brothers.
Me and Mrs. Jones is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in January 1973 by Columbia Records. While it does cover several big chart hits of the day like his last album, Song Sung Blue, did, it also includes songs that didn't make the US Top 40 or had never charted.
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