Sad news heard on Fox just now: Bobby Hatfield, one of the 2 Righteous Brothers, died tonight

[Jazz]

Not sure exactly where they found him or what he died from, but Fox just reported one of the 2 original Righteous Brothers died tonight prior to a concert. He will be sorely missed.

Righteous Brothers Bobby Hatfield (left) and Bill Medley

older article about their current tour - Bobby was 63 ...


The Righteous Brothers haven't lost that love of singing hits on the road

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The Righteous Brothers

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Dodge Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

Randy Cordova
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 28, 2003 12:00 AM

Here's a scoop: The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, travel on separate buses while they are on tour.

Some Everly-style feuding going on here? Maybe a war brewing in the blue-eyed-soul world?

"Bottom line: Mine is the smoker's bus," says Hatfield, who sings tenor to Medley's gruff baritone. "My bus is the hipper bus."

Anyone who has ever heard the Righteous Brothers' soaring versions of Unchained Melody and Ebb Tide knows how ear-piercing Hatfield's high notes can be. Even today, he sings with the same theatrical intensity. How does he maintain that voice and feed a nicotine fix?

"People have been asking me that for years," Hatfield says. "I've had women ask me what I do to keep my throat ripe. I'm still singing in the same key - I just have to grab myself a little bit tighter now."

The California duo has been around since 1962. As any pop-music junkie can tell you, the two are not really brothers. The name came when a Marine shouted after one of their early performances, "That's righteous, brothers!" The moniker, like the twosome, stuck.

They made their mark in the '60s with the booming You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Go Ahead and Cry and (You're My) Soul and Inspiration being among their nearly 20 top 40 hits.

The duo has so many well-known songs, there's not a lot of room to change its concert set lists around. But Hatfield doesn't mind.

"We don't get tired of them. Fortunately for us, our big hits were really good songs. What makes them fresh for us night after night is the audience reaction," says Hatfield, who stops in Phoenix with Medley on Friday. "There's no reason for us to do Bridge Over Troubled Water - they want Lovin' Feelin' and Unchained Melody."

Just as they don't tire of the songs, the two men don't tire of each other. There was a period in the early '70s when Hatfield toured with another partner as the Righteous Brothers while Medley pursued a solo career. But otherwise, they've been a unit since the beginning.

"If it wasn't fun, we wouldn't be out there," Hatfield says. "If we're home more than three weeks, we both start getting a little goofy and can't wait to get back there on the road. You can only mow the lawn so many times."

Medley will turn 63 in September; Hatfield celebrated his 63rd this month onstage in Las Vegas. In the business world, they'd be gearing up for retirement.

"We talk about it every once in a while," Hatfield says. "I'd say I would maybe give us another year or two. There are no plans, you know, but we wouldn't be up here if we still couldn't pull it off. We would never want to embarrass ourselves."

That seems unlikely. Both men are pros who know what they're up there to do: rekindle memories, do funny shtick and sing the big ones, the way people remember them. There is no shame in being a nostalgia act if you're a good one.

"People come to hear our hits, so that's what we do," Hatfield says. "There won't be a hip-hop version of Unchained Melody."

 

[Journeyman]

Damn, another one....They just went in to the Rock and Roll Hall this past year I think it was...

 

[BetBHB.com+]

A lot of found memeries with the Righteous Brothers....thank you Bobby

 

[LogansRun]

You've Lost that Loving Feeling is one of my favourite 60's songs.

 

[IntuitionBET]

"You've Lost that Loving Feeling" and (You're My) Soul and Inspiration"still sounds fresh today as when I first heard them.

These guys sang like men should sing. We may never hear an original sound like them again.

Unlike the little fluffs of today like Justin Tiberlake, Boys to men etc.

Another great era slowly passing away into just a memory..a very good memory.

 

[sickgambler]

Man, call me a fag, I don't care, but I love soft romantic love songs. And everytime I heard "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" I couldn't help getting emotional. I am a very romantic man, and that song made me cry.

What a beautiful song.. One of my all time favorites.

____________

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

 

[autiger]

Saw them 3 years ago from the front row in Vegas.What a duo!Now another member of rock and roll heaven.

 

[Jazz]

Bobby Hatfield, a Righteous Brothers Singer, Dies at 63
By BEN SISARIO

Published: November 7, 2003

Bobby Hatfield, whose wholesomely passionate tenor carried the upper harmonies of the pop-soul duo the Righteous Brothers in hits like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," died on Wednesday in a hotel room in Kalamazoo, Mich. He was 63 and lived in Newport Beach, Calif.

The cause was unknown, said David Cohen, his manager. Mr. Hatfield's body was found in bed shortly before the Righteous Brothers were to perform at Western Michigan University, Mr. Cohen said.

Mr. Hatfield and his partner in the Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley, were deeply influenced by the intimate and expressive style of black soul singers, but unlike most previous white groups they sought to emulate the raw intensity of those singers. In hits like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Unchained Melody" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration," Mr. Medley and Mr. Hatfield channeled an emotional power that had rarely been heard in white pop.

Robert Lee Hatfield was born in Beaver Dam, Wis., and grew up in Anaheim, Calif. He is survived by his wife Linda; his sons Robert Jr., Kalin and Dustin; and a daughter, Vallyn, all of Newport Beach.

Mr. Hatfield attended Fullerton Junior College and Long Beach State University, both in California, and sang in groups that played at proms and fraternity dances. In 1962 Mr. Hatfield's group, the Variations, merged with Mr. Medley's, the Paramours. The men formed a duo later that year and reportedly took their name after a black fan exclaimed at one of their concerts, "That was righteous, brothers."

Unlike Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis before them, the Righteous Brothers maintained a well-scrubbed image. "Lovin' Feelin' " was a No. 1 hit in 1965 and has become one of the most popular songs in radio history. A spokeswoman for BMI, the music-licensing organization, said that the song had been broadcast more than 10 million times in the United States. But "Lovin' Feelin' " was an unlikely hit. Before it was recorded, the Righteous Brothers had only minimal success; the group's biggest hit was "Little Latin Lupe Lu," which reached No. 49 in 1963.

Phil Spector signed the group to his Philles label in 1964 and wrote "Lovin' Feelin' " for them with his songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. That hit was recorded with Mr. Spector's trademark "wall of sound" technique, with an abundance of instruments, including four acoustic guitars, three basses and three pianos. Mr. Medley sang the verses in a sonorous baritone and Mr. Hatfield joined in on the choruses with soaring harmonies.

Worried that the song was too long to be played by D.J.'s, Mr. Spector listed a false running time on the record's label. Instead of its actual length of 3 minutes and 50 seconds, the last two digits were reversed, so the label read 3:05.

The Righteous Brothers recorded several more hits with Mr. Spector, including "Unchained Melody," "Ebb Tide" and "Just Once in My Life," before signing a million-dollar contract with Verve Records. At Verve the group recorded another Mann-Weil song, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration," with Mr. Medley as producer fastidiously recreating Mr. Spector's wall of sound. It became a No. 1 hit in 1966. In the mid-60's the group was also a regular act on the weekly television show "Shindig!"

The group broke up in 1968 and for a short time Mr. Hatfield retained the name the Righteous Brothers on tour, with Jimmy Walker filling in for Mr. Medley.

Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Medley reunited in 1974 and had a No. 3 hit with "Rock and Roll Heaven," a tribute to dead rock stars. Mr. Medley retired in 1976, but the two reunited again in 1983. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this year.

 

[rugby]

It's a little late, but he passed away at the Radisson Plaza Hotel here in Kalamazoo, MI. It was about a 1/2 hour before he was to perform at Miller auditorium on the campus of Western Michigan university (my alma mater) that his mgr. discovered him. They sent the body to Lansing, MI for an autopsy.

 

[tsm123]

Saw the Righteous Brothers at the NCO Club in Naha, Okinawa in 1968. Fabulous show.

 

[kiwiway]

When I say the Righteous Brothers in Vegas 2 years ago it was the first time in my life that I believed I was in the presence of greatness.

It was Hartfield's wedding anniversary and that month Unchained Melody had officially become the most played song on US radio of all time.

 

[JackDee]

""Bottom line: Mine is the smoker's bus," says Hatfield, who sings tenor to Medley's gruff baritone. "My bus is the hipper bus.""

Man, do i need to quit smoking...

sad loss, rip. Lovin feeling one of the all time greats.