The week of August 24, 1965, found a trio of major hits atop the Billboard Hot 100: Sonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe,’ The Beatles’ ‘Help!,’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls.’

In the #4 spot that week, its peak position on the chart, was The Righteous Brothers’ ‘Unchained Melody.’ I was sure I had featured this song on the blog before, but it turns out I have posted other versions (five, to be exact) but never the most famous one.

The others include: the original, by Todd Duncan, from the 1955 prison movie Unchained; an instrumental version by Les Baxter; a popular recording by Al Hibbler (also released in 1955); the 1982 Joni Mitchell song ‘Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody,’ which incorporates the tune; and a 2017 cover by Lykke Li, which was included on the Booksmart soundtrack.

All of those recordings are lovely, but nothing tops what The Righteous Brothers did with the song in 1965 after lead singer Bobby Hatfield won a coin toss against partner Bill Medley for the chance to record this solo vocal for their album Just Once in My Life.

The track began its life as the B-side of a song called ‘Hung On You.’ When radio stations started favoring ‘Unchained Melody’ over its A-side, producer Phil Spector was incensed and asked them to stop. But by then the song was already on its way to hit status.

Medley claimed that Spector wasn’t even the producer of the song, despite getting credit on most pressings (which would explain why he was bothered by its airplay). Instead, Medley says he produced the song himself, along with most of the album, because Spector was too busy.

This version of ‘Unchained Melody’ took on a whole new life in 1990 when it was used in the erotic pottery scene in the smash hit Ghost. The original version charted again that year, as did a re-recorded version by Hatfield. The Righteous Brothers became the first act to have two versions of the same song in the Top 20 of the Hot 100.