Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield Dies at 63
 

Half of the "Blue Eyed Soul" duo has passed away.

What a great act they were during the 1960's with hits such as Soul and Inspiration, You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin', Ebb Tide, and Unchained Melody -- as well as others.

Back seats and college dance floors will never be the same.


Edited to add story:

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (Nov. 6) - Bobby Hatfield, who with partner Bill Medley pioneered ''blue-eyed soul'' as the Righteous Brothers with hits like ''Unchained Melody'' and ''You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,'' died Wednesday night of undetermined causes at a hotel, his manager said. He was 63.

Hatfield's body was discovered in his bed at 7 p.m. EST, a half-hour before the duo was to perform at Miller Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus, manager David Cohen said.


Hear Righteous Brothers


'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'

''It's a shock, a real shock,'' Cohen said during a telephone interview. Medley, who teamed with Hatfield 42 years ago, was ''broken up. He's not even coherent,'' Cohen said.

Hatfield's body was taken from the hotel about 10 p.m. directly to Lansing, where an autopsy was to be performed, Joe Hakim, an executive with the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, told the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Miller Auditorium executive director Bill Biddle told the audience at 7:05 p.m. that the 7:30 p.m. show had been canceled because of ''a personal emergency of an unspecified nature.''

Hatfield had been sleeping most of the day in his room, Hakim said. When he didn't answer a wakeup call about 6 p.m., hotel staff and authorities entered the room and found Hatfield's body.

The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.


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Their signature 1964 single, ''You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,'' has been cited by numerous sources as the most-programmed song in radio history. Later 1960s hits included ''Soul and Inspiration'' and ''Unchained Melody.''

Robert Lee Hatfield was born Aug. 10, 1940 in Beaver Dam, Wis. His family moved to Anaheim, Calif., when he was 4.

Hatfield organized singing and instrumental groups in high school while helping his parents with their dry cleaning business.


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· AOL Music: The Righteous Brothers
· Official Web Site

An avid athlete, Hatfield considered a career in professional baseball, but found his true calling in music - a love he pursued while attending Long Beach State University, where he formed a band and performed at bars and proms.

Hatfield teamed up with Medley in 1962 as part of a five-piece group called The Paramours. According to the Righteous Brothers Web site, a black Marine called out during one of their performances, ''That was righteous, brothers!'' They renamed themselves the Righteous Brothers before the release of their first album in 1963.

After splitting up in 1968, they reunited in 1974 and returned to the top of the charts with ''Rock and Roll Heaven.''

''Unchained Melody'' was featured in the 1990 movie ''Ghost,'' and a re-recorded version earned Hatfield and Medley a Grammy nomination.

AP-NY-11-06-03 0135EST

We had a love, a love, a love you don't find every dayyyy...
So don't...don't...don't let it slip awayyyyy..

Sad. We were just singing RB songs last night at the bar.

We had an idiot there who knew "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin" but didn't know anything about the RB. He thought the song was popular because of Top Gun. :rolleyes:

I can only imagine what Bill Medley is going through right now. To have your closest friend and confidante after 40 some years gone just like that.

All the greats seem to be leaving us too soon. :(

I saw the RB in concert in Houston in the mid-80's and they were wonderful. I remember Bobby calling Bill "Froggy the Pencil" because of his lanky-ness and deep voice. Wish I could remember what Bill called Bobby.


They are definitely at the top of entertainment acts that we will never see the quality again. These days, it is either solo or mulitple entertainers.

I read that and was in shock! I LOVED the Righteous brothers. "Unchained Melody" still sends chills down my spine

They said on the radio that he was incoherent.

Another brother of TKE dies :(

When I was pinned the guys sang "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" to me, sigh.

that's a shame Bobby Hatfield pass away.:(

How sad. I saw them in concert a few years ago, it was a great concert.

All these well-known people dying lately has started to make me feel seriously OLD!!

(yeah, yeah, maybe I really am seriously old, but honestly!)