Unchained Melody

[3] According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.

[4] In 1955, three versions of the song (by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, and Roy Hamilton) charted in the Billboard top 10 in the United States,[5] and four versions (by Al Hibbler, Les Baxter, Jimmy Young, and Liberace) appeared in the top 20 in the United Kingdom simultaneously, a record for any song.

[8][9] Of the hundreds of recordings made, the Righteous Brothers' version, with a solo by Bobby Hatfield, became the jukebox standard after its release.

Hatfield changed the melody in the final verse and many subsequent covers of the song are based on his version.

The Righteous Brothers recording achieved a second round of great popularity when it was featured in the film Ghost in 1990.

North had a melody he had written in the 1930s and composed and recorded the score when he was asked to write a song based upon the movie's theme.

[14] The film centered on a man who contemplates either escaping from prison to live life on the run or completing his sentence and returning to his wife and family.

[14] William Stirrat, an electrical engineer, claimed to have written the lyrics as a teenager in 1936 under the pen name "Hy Zaret" only to have North use the uncredited words in the 1955 original.

[16][17] The case went to court and the dispute was resolved completely in favor of the real Zaret (the one born Hyman Zaritsky) who continued to receive all royalties.

Two weeks after Young's version entered the top 10 of the British charts in June 1955, Liberace scored a number 20 hit (Philips PB 430).

[10] The lead vocal was performed solo by Bobby Hatfield, who later recorded other versions of the song credited solely to him.

Both wanted to sing "Unchained Melody" for their fourth album, but Hatfield won the coin toss.

[46] Medley said: "Phil came to me and asked me to produce the Righteous Brothers albums because he would have taken too long and it would have cost too much money.

[10] For a third take, he decided to change the melody for the "I need your love" line in the final verse, and sang it much higher instead.

[10] However, "Hung On You" failed to interest radio DJs who instead chose to play the 'B' side "Unchained Melody".

"Unchained Melody" reappeared on the US Billboard charts in 1990 after the Righteous Brothers' recording was used in the box office blockbuster film Ghost.

The re-recorded version was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 10, 1991,[55] and received a Grammy Award nomination.

The original version received a lot of airplay, and topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart for two weeks in 1990.

[62] The Righteous Brothers' cover of "Unchained Melody" is now widely considered the definitive version of the song.

On June 21, 1977, Elvis Presley performed the song at a show in Rapid City, South Dakota.

[10] The performance, described by Rolling Stone as "the last great moment of his career", was recorded for his last television special two months before his death in August 1977.

[115] Another live version recorded earlier on April 24, 1977, at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was included in his last album Moody Blue.

It also launched the singing career of Robson & Jerome, and became the biggest hit in the UK for Simon Cowell, marking his beginning as a significant figure in the music industry.

[121] In November 1994, in an episode of the UK television drama series Soldier Soldier, characters Dave Tucker and Paddy Garvey, portrayed by actors Robson Green and Jerome Flynn respectively, performed "Unchained Melody" as an impromptu duo, The Unrighteous Brothers, after the entertainment failed to appear for a friend's wedding.

[122][123] Their performance triggered a strong response from the audience who attempted to find a recording of the song that was then unavailable.

English singer-songwriter Gareth Gates first performed "Unchained Melody" as a contestant in the quarter-final of the first series of the UK singing competition television show Pop Idol, which included Simon Cowell as one of the judges.

[140] Gates' version of "Unchained Melody" became one of the fastest-selling singles in the UK, selling around 328,000 copies in the first day of release.

138 in the list of Songs of the Century released by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.