Monday, August 26, 2019

"On This Side Of Goodbye" by The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers consisted of a duo of blue-eyed soul singers: Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They soared to fame with their breakthrough classic, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," which remains one of the biggest selling singles of all-time. It spent two weeks at #1 in 1964 and paved the way for additional hits such as "Just Once In My Life" (#9), "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" (#1 for 3 weeks), and "Ebb Tide" (#5).

"Unchained Melody" is unique in that it first peaked at #4 in 1965, but reappeared to reach #13 in 1990 thanks to its use in the hit movie Ghost. Also in 1990, a new version was released that hit #19.

Bill Medley left the group in 1968, but returned in 1974 to give the boys a big comeback hit with "Rock And Roll Heaven," which reached #3. They'd have two more Top 40 singles with "Give It To The People" (#20) and "Dream On" (#32) in 1974 before disappearing from the charts until 1990. Medley would also have chart success as a solo artist, most notably with his duet with Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life." The song was featured in the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing and spent one week at #1. So that makes two Patrick Swayze movies Medley has to thank for lifting his songs on the charts.

"On This Side Of Goodbye" seemed to have all the ingredients of another hit. A soaring melody written by Carole King, wonderfully sung, but it only made it to #47 in 1966.


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