Bobby Hatfield, half of Righteous Brothers duo, dies at 63

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/7193267.htm

The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Bobby Hatfield, who with partner Bill Medley rose from playing Santa Ana bars and Anaheim High School proms to international stardom as the Righteous Brothers, died Wednesday night in Kalamazoo, Mich., the group's manager said.

Police responded to a call at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo at about 7 p.m. EST. Five minutes later, in Miller Auditorium - where the Righteous Brothers were to begin their tour - an announcement was made that the concert had been canceled because of a personal emergency.

Hatfield, 63, died in his sleep, manager David Cohen said, adding that the singer's family had received few details on the cause of death.

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Listening to him, it's hard to believe that anyone could sing so high but with such raw emotion.
Very sad news.

What an enduring song to be identfied with and what a tremendous performance by Hatfield. Hatfield and Medly was a fantastic duo and it's hard to believe one of the great voices has ben silenced.

Godspeed to the Blond Bomber.

we are greater for having had him

Bobby and Bill are both well loved in Orange County. I know them and both their kids.

Guess he'll figure out if there's a Rock N Roll Heaven now.

God speed Bobby :toast:

Terrible news. RIP.

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.
You're trying hard not to show it, (baby).
But baby, baby I know it...

You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh.

Now there's no welcome look in your eyes when I reach for you.
And now your're starting to critisize little things I do.
It makes me just feel like crying, (baby).
'Cause baby, something in you is dying.

You lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woooooah

Baby, baby, I get down on my knees for you.

If you would only love me like you used to do, yeah.

We had a love...a love...a love you don't find everyday.

So don't...don't...don't...don't let it slip away.

Baby (baby), baby (baby),
I beg of you please...please,
I need your love (I need your love), I need your love (I need your love),
So bring it on back (So bring it on back), Bring it on back (so bring it on back).

Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...gone,
and I can't go on,
noooo...

Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...

They definitely had it.

time ago ,really cool show.that was when cool was cool.

Bobby Hatfield,left and Bill Medley performing at their induction to
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2003
< photo Gregory Bull,AP

Again and in Earlier Days



It is not mentioned in the article below but The Righteous Brothers' song
" Unchained Melody " was a big part of the 1990 movie "Ghost".

For those not familiar the song "“Rock and Roll Heaven”
it is essentially a dedication to the music legends
who are no longer with us and incorporates lines from some
of their biggest hits into the lyrics
(“Elvis loved us tender,
John cried give peace a chance and
Roy introduced us to his pretty woman”).
The number contemplates that these artists are in heaven
and have formed to quote “one hell of a band”.
New inductees into the song when it was redone for their " Reunion " CD
include Elvis, Roy Orbison, Rick Nelson,
Marvin Gaye, Dennis Wilson and John Lennon.

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Unchained Melody" are all-time classics . . . their voices blended so marvelously, and they did indeed have soul . . . condolences to his family and to Bill Medley . . .

they came from a time of singers when music was awesome and meant something to the world. Folksingers, hootnannies, soul music, it was all wonderful, just like them.

RIP.

And THANKS to all the real radio stations who played your records BEFORE Spector "discovered" you!

:loveya:
dbt

enjoying your music.

Bill Medley quit in 1968. Bobby went on as the Righteous Brothers with another vocalist, the deep voiced guy from the Walker Brothers - I forget his name - sang lead on "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". Bill & Bobby reunited in 1974.

nm

They're dropping like flies, for chrissake.

...the Righteous Brothers make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


You never close your eyes
Anymore when I kiss your lips
There's no tenderness
Like before in your fingertips
You're trying hard not to show it (baby),
But baby, baby I know it

You've lost that lovin' feelin', oh that lovin' feelin'
You've lost that lovin' feelin', now it's gone, gone, gone
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

There's no welcome look in your eyes
When I reach for you
Girl, you're starting to criticize
Everything I do
It makes me just feel like crying (baby)
'Cause baby, something beautiful's dying

You've lost that lovin' feelin', oh that lovin' feelin'
You've lost that lovin' feelin', now it's gone, gone, gone
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

Baby, baby, I'd get down on my knees for you
If you would only love me like you used to do
We had a love, a love, a love you don't find every day
Oh don't, don't, don't, don't let it slip away

Baby (baby), baby (baby!)
I beg you please (I beg you please)
I beg you please (I beg you please!)
I need your love (I need your love)
I need your love (I need your love!)
Oh bring it on back (Oh bring it on back)
Oh bring it on back (Oh bring it on back!)

Bring back that lovin' feelin, whoa-oa that lovin' feelin'
Bring back that lovin' feelin, now it's gone, gone, gone
And I can't go on
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

. . .without Phil Spector puking all over their recordings.

RIP Bobby.
The Professor

"Little Latin Lupe Lu" is just awesome!

My question is more rooted in how great their most famous stuff might have been if someone with taste had been the producer.

Sorry, i don't want to get into a Spector rant here.
The Professor

Produced it for Verve Records, and knocked the Wall Of Sound off to a tee. Phillsy was PISSED.

Sheesh! Talk about a waste of studio time! Copying Phil Spector's sound is too easy. If you don't care about definition, clarity and the actual music, it's easy.
The Professor

David Gates did early on
Nino Tempo, Sonny Bono (in the pre-TV show days)

Brian Wilson did when the Beach Boys made Pet Sounds. The result, one of the greatest recordings in rock history.

nm

rather than noise.

Although not a Beach Boys fan, i find that Pet Sounds has barely anything in common with Spector. It's lush and layered, but the gross overuse of strings and reverb is not there. As a result, you can actually hear what's going on when listening to it.

Brian might have thought he was emulating Phil, but it sounds nothing like a Spector puke fest.

And, this coming from someone who doesn't like the Beach Boys and has NONE of their albums. (I've certainly heard plenty of them, though.) Me, i think Pet Sounds is just ok. Never quite got the buzz of that record.

I'm not very impressed by any of Sonny Bono's productions. His songwriting is better than his production work. You're right, it's Spector-like. But, that just makes it mushy, blurry, and bad in my book.
The Professor

by Spector. Wilson credits Spector for making Brian think like a producer and was impressed with the echo effect of the wall of sound. I think Pet Sounds was a testiment to that but Wilson obviously added his own twists.

I actually listen to music from Phillies Records from the entire tenure of the record company not realizing the sound had a name. I just knew I tended to love the music. The fact that talented songwriters wrote most all of the songs which helped. Some people loved the wall of sound and others didn't and I respect that.

...they were local celebrities in Southern California whose biggest hit to date only got to #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their first recording with Spector at the helm, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," shot to #1 nationally and made the Righteous Brothers a household name.

Seems to me, hooking up with Phil Spector was the best thing that ever happened to those guys!

I don't decide what's great and what's not based upon sales. Britney sells a ton of records, but the music is disposable crap and won't be remembered in 10 years.

The Spector stuff is remembered mostly because it was coincident with the rock explosion of the late 50's. There were major artists who would have loved to, and had planned to, work with Buddy Holly as producer that ended up with Spector because he was still alive.

The dollar and cents stuff is meaningless for the purposes of my opinion. The music is still not as good as it could have been, and the quality of their voices is compromised by dreadful arrangements and the dreaded "Wall of Sound".
The Professor

We obviously are not going to see eye to eye on this. Personally, I love the Phil Spector Wall of Sound, and you hate it. What do you say we simply agree to disagree and leave it at that?

But having said that, I must disagree with your premise.

Sales = quality? By that logic, Wal-Mart is the finest retailer in the world, and McDonalds is haute cuisine.

I guess I should've made myself clearer.

What I meant to imply was that if the Righteous Brothers hadn't met Phil Spector, they might never have achieved the level of fame and fortune that their talent deserved.

50+ here, and parents (Mom in September) and icons from my youth dropping like flies. The Righteous Brothers had a righteous sound. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls . . .