Bobby Hatfield: The Righteous Brothers’ Tenor Voice
Bobby Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer. He and Bill Medley performed together as the Righteous Brothers, with Hatfield singing the tenor part for the duo and performing solo on the group’s 1965 recording of “Unchained Melody.”
Early Life and Education
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 served as co-captain of the basketball team. He was student body president during the 1957–1958 school year and graduated in 1958.
The Los Angeles Dodgers scouted Hatfield as a potential professional baseball player, but his passion for music led him to pursue singing instead. He attended Fullerton College and later California State University, Long Beach, where he encountered Bill Medley. Hatfield was an alumnus of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Career and Achievements
Hatfield initially performed with a group called the Variations before joining Medley in the Paramours in 1962. The five-member group was signed to Moonglow Records and released “There She Goes (She’s Walking Away)” in December 1962, but the group soon disbanded, leaving Hatfield and Medley to perform as a duo in 1963.
As the Righteous Brothers, they took their name after Black Marines remarked that their singing sounded “righteous, brothers.” Their first charted single was “Little Latin Lupe Lu” on Moonglow Records, and they became regulars on the television show Shindig! In 1964, they met music producer Phil Spector at the Cow Palace near San Francisco. Spector signed them to Philles Records, and their first No. 1 hit was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” in 1964.
“Unchained Melody” became Hatfield’s signature solo performance with the group. He also performed solo on “Ebb Tide,” which reached the Top 5, and on “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “For Sentimental Reasons.” Both “Unchained Melody” and “Ebb Tide” were songs he had originally performed with the Variations. In 1966, the Righteous Brothers left Spector and signed with Verve/MGM Records, scoring a hit with “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.” The duo broke up in 1968, though Hatfield briefly teamed with Jimmy Walker from The Knickerbockers under the Righteous Brothers name on MGM.
As a solo artist, Hatfield released several singles beginning in 1963 with “Hot Tamales”/”I Need a Girl” on Moonglow Records. His only charted solo single was “Only You,” which peaked at No. 95. In 1971, he released the album Messin’ in Muscle Shoals, recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals in August 1970, though it received little promotion and went largely unnoticed.
Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1974 and had another hit with the No. 3 “Rock and Roll Heaven.” After Medley retired from music between 1976 and 1981, they reunited for an anniversary special on American Bandstand in 1981. Following the success of the film Ghost, which featured “Unchained Melody,” Hatfield re-recorded the song in 1990 and noted that he had retained his high tenor notes and gained an additional one since the original recording. The duo toured extensively throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003 by Billy Joel.
Personal Life
Hatfield was briefly married to Joy Ciro, a dancer who appeared on the T.A.M.I. Show and Where the Action Is. They had two children, Bobby, Jr. and Kalin. He married Linda Torrison on August 4, 1979, and they remained married until his death. Linda suffered from lupus, and Hatfield established the Bobby Hatfield Charity Golf Classic to raise funds for charities supporting the disease. The couple had two children, Vallyn and Dustin.
Death
Hatfield died at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, on November 5, 2003. He was found by Bill Medley and the Righteous Brothers’ road manager Dusty Hanvey after failing to appear at a scheduled concert venue. He apparently died in his sleep hours before a Righteous Brothers concert. A toxicology report released in January 2004 concluded that cocaine use had precipitated a fatal heart attack. The initial autopsy revealed that Hatfield had advanced coronary disease with significant blockage in the coronary arteries.
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