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Unchained Melody

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"Unchained Melody"
Song
A-side"Hung on You"

"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 popular song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. Rerecorded in 1965, it became one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.[1]

In 1955, North used the music as a theme for the prison film Unchained, hence the name. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.[2] Les Baxter (Capitol Records catalog number 3055), released an instrumental version which reached #2. Then song recordings were released by Al Hibbler (Decca Records #29441) reaching #3 on the Billboard charts, Jimmy Young which hit #1 on the British charts, and Roy Hamilton (Epic Records no. 9102) reaching #1 on the R&B Best Sellers list and #6 on the pop chart.[3] Hundreds of other recordings followed.

It was the July 1965 version by The Righteous Brothers that became a jukebox standard for the late 20th century, regaining massive popularity when used in the 1990 blockbuster film Ghost.

Origin of song

In 1955, Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted to write a song as a theme for the obscure prison film Unchained,[4] and their song eventually became known as the "Unchained Melody". The song doesn't actually include the word "unchained", and songwriter Zaret chose instead to focus his lyrics on someone who pines for a lover he hasn't seen in a "long, lonely time".[4] The 1955 film centers around 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.[4] The lyrics note, "Lonely rivers sigh, ' Wait for me... I'll be coming home; wait for me'...".[] Unable to see them for years, he pleas, "I need your love, God speed your love to me".

With Todd Duncan singing the vocals,[2] the song was nominated for an Oscar in 1955, but the Best-Song award went to the rival hit song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" (which was extensively re-played, and sung in that film).

Early versions

Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.[2] Les Baxter (Capitol Records catalog number 3055), released an instrumental version which reached #2. Al Hibbler followed close behind with a vocal version (Decca Records catalog number 29441) that reached #3 on the Billboard charts. He was followed soon after by Jimmy Young, whose version hit #1 on the British charts. Roy Hamilton's version (Epic Records catalog number 9102) reached number one on the R&B Best Sellers list and #6 on the pop chart[5]. June Valli (recorded March 15, 1955, released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-6078, with the flip side "Tomorrow"[6]) took it to #29.[7]Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps recorded it for their second album in 1956 — Vincent's version is played at mid-tempo and features a tremolo picking guitar part. It is also probably the most unusual cover version, as the bridge was omitted. Harry Belafonte sang it at the 1956 Academy Awards where it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song of 1955. (Belafonte had also made a recording of the song for RCA Victor Records, which was released as catalog number 20-6784, with the flip side "A-Roving"[8].) In 1963, an uptempo, doo-wop version hit the regional charts (eastern U.S.) by Vito & the Salutations, eventually becoming part of the soundtrack for Goodfellas in 1990.

The song regained popularity when another version was produced by Phil Spector in 1965, credited to the Righteous Brothers, but performed as a solo by Bobby Hatfield, who later recorded versions credited solely to him. It climbed to number four.

Chart performaces

Other versions

One early cover was by teen idol Ricky Nelson, whose version was issued in 1958 on the album Ricky Nelson. The Supremes covered the song for their album I Hear A Symphony, released in 1966. Roy Orbison recorded a version of it for his 1968 album Many Moods.

On June 21, 1977, just six weeks before his death, Elvis Presley performed "Unchained Melody" for what would be his last television appearance, "Elvis In Concert." However, the recording that was ultimately released as a single and included on the Moody Blue album (the last released while he was alive) was from an earlier appearance at Ann Arbor, Michigan, featuring him on piano, as was invariably the case when Presley sang the song in concert.

In 1981, a live Heart version peaked at #83 on the Billboard Top 100.[19]

U2 also covered the song as a B-side to their 1989 single, "All I Want Is You". They have played the track live several times, including one performance which was captured on their 1994 concert film Zoo TV: Live from Sydney.

In 1995, the song was performed by Robson Green and Jerome Flynn in the UK drama series Soldier Soldier. This version was subsequently released as a single and quickly reached #1 in the UK, becoming one of the country's all time biggest selling records.

Cyndi Lauper was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal" for her interpretation of the song, which appears on the At Last album. In 2006, singer Barry Manilow covered the song on his album Greatest Songs of the Fifties, and it reached #20. Christian Singer David Phelps recorded the song on his 2008 album The Voice.

The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.

Clay Aiken recorded the song on his 2010 album Tried and True.

Gareth Gates Version

"Unchained Melody"
Song
B-side"Evergreen"

"Unchained Melody" served as the first single for Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates. Gates' version of the song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart on the week of release, staying there for four weeks, and in the Top 40 for thirteen weeks. The single went on to sell over 1,000,000 copies. The single also charted in the top 10 in several other countries. The single went on to become the second highest selling single of the noughties.[20]

Tracklisting

UK CD Single
  1. "Unchained Melody" - 3:52
  2. "Evergreen" - 3:35
  3. "Anything Is Possible" - 4:02

Charts

Chart (2007/2008) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 9
French Singles Chart 4
Dutch Singles Chart 7
German Singles Chart 17
Irish Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart 18
UK Singles Chart 1

Television shows

The song has become a favorite among auditioners for TV singing contests. It has often been said by Simon Cowell to be his favorite song, leading it to be a favourite among those hoping to impress him in auditions for Pop Idol, American Idol, and The X Factor. It was performed on the original series of Pop Idol by runner-up Gareth Gates, who later released it as a single. It was also sung on Australian Idol by finalist Dan England and 2006's winner Damien Leith, and on American Idol by George Trice in Season 2, Clay Aiken during the Season 2 Top 3 finals, after which he advanced to the Top 2 (finals), as well as Kellie Pickler on Season 5 Top 6 Love Songs Week, for which she was eliminated.

Popularity

The song has been #1 on lists of love songs featured on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 and Five.

In 2004 Rolling Stone placed the song at #365 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Placed 1st in Magic 1278, 500 greatest songs of all time.

Uses in media

The enduring popularity of the song has led to it being used on a number of different forms of media.

"Unchained Melody" reappeared on the Billboard charts in 1990 after The Righteous Brothers' recording was used in the box office blockbuster film Ghost. Two versions charted in the US that year. There was the reissue of the 1965 original Righteous Brothers single which received a lot of airplay, but sales were minimal since it was only available as a 45 RPM single. This version peaked at #13. There was also a 1990 re-recording of the song which was available only as a cassette single. The re-recorded version saw minimal airplay, but excellent sales. It peaked at #19. For eight weeks, both versions were on the Hot 100 simultaneously. This re-release of the song topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart for two weeks in 1990. It reached #1 for the fifth time in the UK, becoming the UK's top selling single of 1990; it also later reached #1 in Australia, staying at number-one for seven weeks through November 1990 and into January 1991.

The song later appeared in a Ford Fiesta commercial featuring two German engineers moulding a car together, in a parody of Ghost.

The song is included on the karaoke games Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 and the US version of SingStar Legends. It features in the animated film "Happy Feet", released in 2006.

This song is also used by Bubbles in Trailer Park Boys when Julian is about to shoot Conky, in reference to his obsession with Patrick Swazye.

References

  1. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Brothers in good company with hits.
  2. ^ a b c Robert Rodriguez, The 1950s' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Rock & Roll Rebels, Brassey's, p.90.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 243..
  4. ^ a b c "Lyricist behind Unchained Melody dies", CBC Arts, July 3, 2007, webpage: Unchained-obit.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 243.
  6. ^ RCA Victor Records in the 20-6000 to 20-6499 series
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
  8. ^ RCA Victor Records in the 20-6500 to 20-6999 series
  9. ^ "Artist Chart History Details: Les Baxter". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  10. ^ "January – June 1955". Record Mirror. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  11. ^ "allmusic ((( Les Baxter > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |BAXTER&sql= ignored (help)
  12. ^ "allmusic ((( Roy Hamilton > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |HAMILTON&sql= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference BillboardEH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Artist Chart History Details: Al Hibbler". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  15. ^ McAleer, Dave. "Every No.1 in the 1960s is listed from all the nine diferent magazine charts!". davemcaleer.com. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  16. ^ a b "allmusic ((( Al Hibbler > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |HIBBLER&sql= ignored (help)
  17. ^ "Artist Chart History Details: Jimmy Young". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  18. ^ "July – November 1955". Record Mirror. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  19. ^ allmusic ((( Heart > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))
  20. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pfmpl
Preceded by
"My Babe" by Little Walter and His Jukes
 Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores number-one single (Roy Hamilton version)
May 21, 1955 - June 4, 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Cash Box magazine best selling record chart
#1 record
May 21, 1955–July 2, 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number-one single (Jimmy Young version)
1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Top selling single of the year (UK)
(The Righteous Brothers version)
1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number-one single (The Righteous Brothers version)
October 28, 1990 for 4 weeks 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single (The Righteous Brothers version)
November 24, 1990 - January 12, 1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Japanese Oricon International Singles Chart number one single (The Righteous Brothers version)
November 5, 1990
December 3, 1990 - December 17, 1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Top selling single of the year (UK)
(Robson & Jerome version)
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number-one single (Robson & Jerome version)
May 14, 1995 (7 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number-one single (Gareth Gates version)
March 24, 2002 - April 20, 2002 		Succeeded by
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