(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post)
The Righteous Brothers - "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
Hit Number 1: February 6, 1965
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
It's been a while since we heard from Phil Spector, but he's finally back with another production. He always liked being the guy behind the scenes; writing songs, putting the musical arrangement together, and producing songs that were known for their "Wall of Sound" technique. That meant putting a dense orchestra sound into songs that would make them sound good coming through the radios and jukeboxes in that era. Now that you know what the "Wall of Sound" is all about, it's obvious that "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is more of the same from Spector, and despite the trouble he got into later in life, he really was a fantastic music producer.
In 1964, Spector had been conducting a band at a show in San Francisco, where the Righteous Brothers were also scheduled to perform later on. The Righteous Brothers were Bill Medley and super-tenor Bobby Hatfield, and Spector was so impressed with their performance, that he wanted them to sign with his label Philles Records. Spector had only worked with black singers in the past, so when he took the Righteous Brothers on that became the first white act that Spector would work with. They sang in a similar soul style that Spector had been familiar with, putting them under the term "blue-eyed soul" which was simply white singers singing soul.
With the help of the songwriting team, husband and wife Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the three were able to write a song for the Righteous Brothers. They decided to write a ballad for them. Mann came up with the first line "You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips", which was influenced by another one of his songs he helped co-write "I Love How You Love Me", a 1961 hit for the Paris Sisters. (It's a 5) The line in that song went "I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me". Mann and Weil quickly came up with the first two verses and the chorus line "You've lost that lovin' feelin'". Spector contributed the "gone, gone, gone, whoa, whoa, whoa", which Weil supposedly disliked, but it stayed in anyway. Mann and Weil needed Spector's help for a bridge since they were having a hard time coming up with one, and Spector came up with the idea to use a "Hang On Sloopy" riff, and they built on top of that to come up with the bridge. ("Hang On Sloopy" is a song that will appear in this blog pretty soon) Before too long, the three had a song on their hands.
When they showed the Righteous Brothers, Medley seemed to really like it, but he was concerned that it didn't really fit their up-tempo R&B style. Medley recalled that he initially thought it would be a great song for the Everly Brothers, but not for them. But after lowering the key of the song to fit Medley's baritone voice, and slowing it down, it "changed the whole vibe of the song" according to Medley. However, Hatfield had concerns of his own as well. He was annoyed that he had to wait until the chorus to join in with Medley's vocals. When he asked Spector what he was supposed to do while waiting for his turn to sing, Spector replied "You can go directly to the bank!"
Though there was some uncertainty going into the song, it turned out exceptionally well. Spector's "Wall of Sound" is what helps make the song, but it also wouldn't be the same without the contrasts of Medley's baritone voice, along with Hatfield's tenor voice. The two have completely different ranges, but they sound great together. You can also hear the sadness in the song and that opening line, and your heart just breaks for this fictional dude, cause he knows his love is failing. It was pretty funny reading about the difficulties of coming up with the bridge, cause that's easily the best part of the song. It starts out quiet, with Medley and Hatfield taking turns singing, with the song slowly building up more and more, almost like it's waking up, and then BOOM! They are right back in that glorious chorus again.
There isn't a single negative thing you can say about this song. It has emotion, talent, and isn't in too big a hurry. It takes its sweet time to deliver the sadness of the song properly. This could never work sped up. Again, Spector was a terrible human being, but an outstanding music producer, and the Righteous Brothers have to be one of the most underrated musical duos of all time. If you put them together, you're bound to come up with a masterpiece.
GRADE: 10/10
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