Vintage
1950s
Music
The
number 5 hit on the Billboard Chart in
1955 was Unchained Melody. The music is by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North
used the music as a theme for the little-known prison
film Unchained. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film
soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded
songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers. According to the song's publishing
administrator, over 1,500 recordings of Unchained
Melody have been made by more than 670 artists in multiple languages.
In 1955, three versions of
the song (Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, Roy Hamilton) charted in the Billboard Top 10 in the United States, and
four versions (Al Hibbler, Les Baxter, Jimmy Young, and Liberace) appeared in the Top 20 in the United Kingdom
simultaneously. This is an unbeaten record for any song.
In 1954, North was contracted to
compose the score for the prison film Unchained. North composed and recorded the score,
and then was asked to write a song based upon the movie's theme. North asked
lyricist Hy Zaret to write the lyric, but Zaret initially declined, saying he
was too busy painting his house. North was able to convince him to take the
job, and together they wrote Unchained
Melody. The song has an unusual harmonic device as the bridge ends on the
tonic chord rather than the more usual dominant chord.
With Todd Duncan singing
the vocals, the song was
nominated for an Oscar in 1955.
The use
of the Righteous Brothers' cover of Unchained
Melody in the film Ghost resurrected the song popularity, and
the scene where the song was played also became widely recreated or parodied in
popular culture.
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