Sixty years ago (February 6, 1965), one of the all-time great blue-eyed soul tunes, The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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The soaring ballad knocked Petula Clark’s “Downtown” from the top if the chart, and spent two weeks at No. 1 before it was dethroned by Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ “This Diamond Ring.” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” also topped the U.K. singles chart for two weeks around that time.
The song was co-written by the hit-making husband-and-wife team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, with assistance from famed producer Phil Spector. Spector produced the track, which showcased his signature Wall of Sound technique to great effect.
The Righteous Brothers were a duo featuring deep-voiced singer Bill Medley and high tenor vocalist Bobby Hatfield. Spector signed the duo to his Philles Records label in 1964, then asked Mann and Weil to write a single for them.
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was partly inspired by The Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving.” Medley crooned the verses and was joined by Hatfield on high harmonies in the choruses and on the catchy bridge.
The Recording of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”
In a 2014 interview with SongFacts, Medley recalled that he and Hatfield didn’t initially think “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was a good fit for them.
“We had been doing all of this rhythm and blues stuff,” Medley noted. “And we just thought, ‘Wow, what a good song for the Everly Brothers.’ But it didn’t seem right for us.”
Bill said that as the recording session proceeded, he and his duo partner eventually warmed to the song.
“They were singing it a lot higher than we did, so they kept lowering it and lowering it and lowering it,” he recalled. “[A]nd Phil slowed it down to that great beat that it was. I remember being in the studio with Phil and we weren’t used to working that hard on songs. But we were smart enough to know every time he asked us to do it again, that it was getting better.”
According to Wikipedia, the recording took more than 39 takes to complete, with Spector asking Medley to sing his parts many times. Phil used the famed session collective the Wrecking Crew, which then included Glen Campbell on guitar, on the track. Members of the girl groups The Blossoms and The Ronettes contributed backing vocals, as did a young Cher.
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” Achievements, Accolades, and Legacy
In 1998, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was chosen for induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
In 1999, performing-rights organization BMI ranked the tune as the most-played song on U.S. radio and television in the 20th century. It held the distinction of being the most-played song in the U.S. for 22 consecutive years, until 2019, when The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” took over the top spot.
In 2015, the Library of Congress inducted “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” into the National Recording Registry. The honor recognizes recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” has been covered many times over the years. In 1980, a version by Hall & Oates reached No. 12 on the Hot 100.
The Righteous Brothers Today
Hatfield died of a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 63. In 2016, Medley relaunched The Righteous Brothers with a new singing partner, Bucky Heard. The duo continues to perform regularly, and has more than 30 concerts lined up in 2025.
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