You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Single infobox
Name = You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'


Artist = The Righteous Brothers
Album = You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
B-side = "There's a Woman"
Published =
Released = December 1964
Recorded = August-November 1964
Genre = Pop, R&B, Blue-eyed soul
Length = 3:45
Writer = Phil Spector, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Label = Philles
Producer = Phil Spector
Engineer = Larry Levine
Arranger = Jack Nitzsche, Eugene Page
Last single = "My Babe" (1963)
This single = "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (1964)
Next single = "Bring Your Love to Me" (1965)
Misc =Infobox Single
Name = You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'


Artist = Hall & Oates
Album = Voices
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1980
Format = 7"
Recorded = 1980
Genre = Blue-Eyed soul
Length =
Label = RCA
Writer =
Producer = Hall & Oates
Certification =
Last single = "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (1980)
This single = "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (1980)
Next single = "Kiss on My List" (1980)
Misc =

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is a 1965 number-one hit single in the US and the UK by The Righteous Brothers. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced that it was the most-played song of the 20th century. Additionally, the song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA.

Writing, Recording & Public Reception

Written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, the song is one of the foremost examples of producer Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" technique. Recorded in Studio A of the famed Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, it features lead vocals by Bill Medley. Bobby Hatfield reportedly expressed his annoyance to Spector upon learning that he would have to wait until the chorus before joining Medley’s vocals. When Hatfield asked Spector just what he was supposed to do during Medley’s solo, Spector replied: “You can go straight to the bank.” [Hinckley, David (1991). Notes from "Phil Spector: Back to Mono (1958-1969)" boxed-set booklet. see Recording Details] Among the background singers in the song's crescendo is a young Cher.

Cynthia Weil recalled that, "After Phil, Barry and I finished [writing it] , we took it over to the Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley, who has the low voice, seemed to like the song." [Hinckley, David (1991). Notes from "Phil Spector: Back to Mono (1958-1969)" boxed-set booklet.] Even with his interest in the song, however, Medley had his doubts. In an interview with "Rolling Stone" magazine, he recalled, "We had no idea if it would be a hit. It was too slow, too long, and right in the middle of The Beatles and the British Invasion." Indeed, the song ran for nearly four minutes when released. This was much too long by contemporary AM standards, but Spector refused to cut it shorter. On the label where the time is indicated, he had "3:05" printed, instead of the track's actual running time of 3:45. He also added a false ending which made the recording more dramatic, and would also trick radio deejays into thinking it was a shorter song. Upon being played the finished record over the phone, co-writer Barry Mann reacted to Medley’s deep baritone by telling Spector, “Phil, you have it on the wrong speed!” [Hinckley, David (1991). Notes from "Phil Spector: Back to Mono (1958-1969)" boxed-set booklet.]

During the Christmas of 1964, British R&B singer Cilla Black released a cover version of the song before the Righteous Brothers original was imported. In an attempt to garner support for the record on the English charts, Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham famously took out a full-page ad in "Melody Maker", declaring:

"This advert is not for commercial gain, it is taken as something that must be said about the great new PHIL SPECTOR Record, THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS singing "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING". Already in the American Top Ten, this is Spector's greatest production, the last word in Tomorrow's sound Today, exposing the overall mediocrity of the Music Industry.Signed,
Andrew Oldham" [Ribowsky, Mark (2000). "He's A Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer", pg. 186-187.]

By mid-February 1965, "Lovin' Feelin'" was No. 1 in both the US and the UK. It the only song to enter the UK Top 10 three different times -- first with the initial charting in 1965, and again when it was re-released in 1969 and 1990. Peaking at #3, the 1990 re-release was prompted by the rekindled success of "Unchained Melody", which itself hit #1 after being used in the movie Ghost. The song was #34 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.

References in Popular Culture

In a scene from the 1986 action movie Top Gun, Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards infamously sing the song in an attempt to win the affection of their female superior, played by Kelly McGillis.

The song is an unofficial anthem of Nottingham Forest Football Club, is commonly sung by fans and occasionally played over the tanoy at the beginning of the second-half. There is also a fanzine and website called lost that loving feeling (LTLF) named after the song. [http://www.ltlf.co.uk/forest/about-ltlf/]

The song also appears in the game .

Recordings

The song has been recorded by performers including:
*Nancy Wilson on "Today - My Way" (1965 Capitol St 2321)
*Joan Baez, live television performance with Phil Spector on piano.
*Gladys Knight & The Pips, on "Silk 'N Soul"
*Isaac Hayes, on "...to Be Continued" (1971)
*Westlife, on "The Love Album" (2006)
*Elvis Presley
*Cilla Black (UK #2, 1965; Australia #2, 1965)
*Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton
*Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra
*Dionne Warwick (USA #16, 1969)
*The Human League, on their 1979 debut "Reproduction"
*Long John Baldry and Kathi MacDonald (USA #89, 1979)
*Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway (USA #71, 1971)
*Hall & Oates, on "Voices" (USA #12, 1980; US AC #15, 1980; UK #55, 1980)
*Erasure, on their 2003 album "Other People's Songs"
*The Firm
*The Flying Pickets, on "Lost Boys"
*Johnny Rivers, on "And I Know You Wanna Dance"
*Telly Savalas, on his 1973 MCA album "Telly"
*Brian Wilson (Wilson's version, recorded during the "Adult Child" era, has never been commercially released)cite web |url=http://www.banana-and-louie.org/unreleased.html |title= Unreleased Beach Boys Songs |date= 2007-09-25]
*Barry Manilow, on "The Greatest Songs of the Sixties" (2006)
*Legs Diamond, on "Fire Power" (1978)
*James Last, on "Beat in Sweet" (1965) Instrumental version.
*Morgan Fisher, on "Hybrid Kids"
*Paul Shane, on BBC Pebblemill (1995)

References