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Released. January 19, 1955. ( 1955-01-19) Composer (s) Alex North. Lyricist (s) Hy Zaret. " Unchained Melody " is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film Unchained (1955), [1] hence the song title.
- January 19, 1955
- Hy Zaret
Sep 2, 2021 · The ballad was written in 1955, with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. What inspired the song? Unchained Melody by Todd Duncan 1955. In 1954, North was asked to compose the score for the prison film movie Unchained. North composed and recorded the score, and then was asked to write a song based on the movie's theme.
- Tom Eames
William Stirrat, aka Hy Zaret, was 16 when he wrote lyrics about Mary Louise "Cookie" Pierce (below right). Alex North wrote the music to Unchained Melody. Ask anyone over the age of, say, 30, if they remember the song "Unchained Melody" and they will likely begin to sing you the lyrics "Oh, my love, my darling/I’ve hungered for your touch/A ...
Feb 12, 2023 · Meet the Writers Behind the Righteous Brothers Hit, “Unchained Melody”. by Cillea Houghton about a year ago. Though “Unchained Melody” was written as the theme song for the 1955 prison ...
- Cillea Houghton
- 4 min
- Staff Writer
- Unlikely Origins of "Unchained Melody"
- Who Wrote "Unchained Melody?"
- Who Are The Righteous Brothers?
- Righteous Brothers, "Unchained Melody"
- "Unchained Melody" Hits Charts Again
- Five Facts About "Unchained Melody"
- Questions & Answers
- Comments
"Unchained Melody" is such a beautiful song and one that every girl in 1965 was hoping the DJ would play so she could slow dance with her favorite beau. This was the ultimate make-up—and make-out—song. The song was originally written as part of a score for a 1955 movie called Unchained, which was based on a book published by Kenyon Judson Scudder i...
"Unchained Melody" was written by composer Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret. North composed the score for Unchainedand was then asked to write a theme song. Zaret was originally not interested in helping North with the lyrics for the song, but North kept after him, and Zaret finally agreed. Two different versions of the song were released to coinci...
When they first caught each other in action, blue-eyed soul singers Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield were both performing in different California-based bands, singing in clubs throughout the state. Medley was with a group called The Paramours, and when a spot opened up in that group, Medley invited Hatfield to audition.
When the duo joined the Phillies label, Spector asked Medley if he would produce The Righteous Brothers albums so that Spector could focus on churning out singles. Medley had previously been producing the songs the duo recorded for Moonglow, so he readily agreed to the arrangement. The guys had a hit with their first release with Spector, a song ca...
The song made its debut at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100the week of July 17th, 1965, and steadily rose up the chart, peaking in the number four spot the week of August 28th. It didn't disappear from the list until the week of October 16th, 1965. The song saw a massive resurgence in popularity again in 1990 when it was used as the love theme in the m...
When songwriter North first called lyricist Zaret for help with the song's lyrics, Zaret replied he was too busy painting his house.Todd Duncan, who sang the song in the movie, was the first African-American opera singer to appear with what was otherwise an all-white ensemble in the New York City Opera Company.A total of four versions of the song made it to the Top 40 in 1955.The song became known as the "Unchained Melody" because it came from the film Unchained. The word unchained doesn't appear in the lyrics at all.Question:Did Medley ever try his luck at singing the song? Answer:Though Medley's voice is not the one you hear in the original recording, he has indeed performed the song. In recent years, he has sung it as a tribute to Hatfield, who passed away in 2003. © 2018 Kaili Bisson
Kaili Bisson (author)from Canada on January 13, 2020: Hello DJ, you are most welcome. What a great wedding song...just a lovely, timeless song. DJ58on January 12, 2020: This was our wedding song in 1993 as the movie Ghost was our first official date and the song was in the movie Ghost. Thank you for sharing all the history this was very interesting...
Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky; August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer who wrote the lyrics of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody," one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.
Alex North wrote the music, Hy Zaret wrote the lyrics, and a black singer named Todd Duncan sang the version in the movie. Duncan went on to become a popular vocal instructor. When the movie came out, an orchestral version by Les Baxter was released along with a version by Al Hibbler. Baxter's version hit #1 in the US; Hibbler's went to #3.
