The Backstory on Unchained Melody
Inspired by a prison movie. Popularized by the Righteous Brothers and featured in “Ghost,” it’s had over 1500 incarnations.
Most of us remember “Unchained Melody” as a tune popularized by The Righteous Brothers. Although it first appeared in the on the charts in the mid 1950s, it has had many incarnations in film, popular culture and on the air in the six-plus decades since its composition.
“Unchained Melody” is a ballad about a woman who misses her lover and longs for his return. The writer and the love interest are seemingly separated by time space. It grew out of the creative mind of film and theatrical composer, Alex North, who was asked to come up with a song for actor Todd Duncan to sing in the 1955 prison film “Unchained.”
North recruited Hy Zaret for assistance in writing the lyrics. Duncan’s character sings the song with the other inmates, his desire for his family outside of prison walls poignantly reflected in the song’s words.
Les Baxter’s version of “Unchained Melody”, was a breakthrough, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the wake of the film’s success. Recordings by Al Hibbler, and Roy Hamilton also charted that year.
It was a decade later that the Righteous Brothers’ iconic rendition of “Unchained Melody” was released. At the time, the duo had no clue it would become a…
