Happy 83rd Birthday to BILL MEDLEY: The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Born September 19, 1940 in Santa Ana, California, Medley began his music career singing and writing songs for groups like The Paramours in the early 1960s. But it was his fateful meeting with Bobby Hatfield and their formation of The Righteous Brothers that shot Medley to stardom and turned them into one of the decade's most popular rock n' roll acts. Their Phil Spector-produced 1964 #1 hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is considered by many to be the apex of Spector's "Wall of Sound" recordings.

Though The Righteous Brothers parted ways in 1968 as Medley pursued a solo career, their musical partnership continued on and off until Hatfield's death in 2003. Some of Medley's biggest solo hits included the #1 duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" with Jennifer Warnes, featured in the film Dirty Dancing.

Even into his 80s, Medley continues to tour and share his legendary voice and classic catalog of songs with audiences across the country. On his 83rd birthday, we celebrate the incredible musical legacy of Bill Medley, who brought his dynamic voice and passion to some of the most timeless pop recordings ever made. Happy Birthday Bill!

YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN' (1965)

Written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil at the request of Phil Spector for act he'd just signed to his Philles label: The Righteous Brothers aka Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN shot to #1, giving both the duo and the songwriting team of Mann & Weil their first #1 hit.

"The title "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was just a placeholder until they could think of something better," wrote SongFacts, "but Spector thought it was great so they went with it. W

"Before signing with Spector, the duo had some minor hits on the Moonglow label, including "Little Latin Lupe Lu" (#49) and "My Babe" (#75). Mann and Weil listened to these songs to get a feel for their sound, and decided to write them a ballad. Inspired by "Baby I Need Your Loving" by The Four Tops, they came up with this song about a desperate attempt to rekindle a lost love."

Phil Spector produced this song using his famous "Wall of Sound" recording technique and was determined to make this his finest production to date. He chose the Righteous Brothers for their tremendous vocal talents, and enlisted his old Jazz guitar idol Barney Kessel to play on the song. Other musicians to play on the track included Los Angeles session pros Carol Kaye (acoustic guitar), Earl Palmer (drums) and Ray Pohlman (bass). Cher, who did a lot of work with Spector early in her career, can also be heard on background vocals near the end of the song.