Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Hatfield moved with his family to Anaheim, California, when he was four.

He attended Anaheim High School, where he played football and baseball and was co-captain of the basketball team.

He briefly considered signing as a professional ballplayer, but his passion for music led him to pursue a singing career while still attending high school.

[3] He eventually encountered his singing partner, Bill Medley, while attending California State University, Long Beach.

[6][9] Their first charted single as the Righteous Brothers was "Little Latin Lupe Lu" released under the label Moonglow Records, and they appeared regularly on the television show Shindig!

After the success of "Unchained Melody", Spector then started recording older standards with the Righteous Brothers such as "Ebb Tide",[10] which Hatfield also performed solo, and it reached the Top 5.

However the duo broke up in 1968, and Hatfield teamed with singer Jimmy Walker (from The Knickerbockers) using the Righteous Brothers name on the MGM label.

[14] He released the self-penned "Hang Ups" and covers of older songs, but "Only You" was his only charted single, peaking at No.

[17][18] However, MGM was in financial trouble, a scheduled single "The Promised Land"/"Woman You Got No Soul" was not released, and with little promotion the album largely went unnoticed.

A hiatus followed between 1976 and 1981 when Medley retired from music after his ex-wife died, but they reunited for an anniversary special on American Bandstand in 1981 to perform an updated version of "Rock and Roll Heaven".

[20] The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003 by Billy Joel.

A security guard let them into Hatfield's room after he had failed to show up at the concert venue when expected.