Singer Bobby Hatfield of Righteous Brothers Dead

Celebrity Obituaries Forum

DETROIT (Reuters) - Bobby Hatfield, the tenor half of The Righteous Brothers singing duo who made "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" a worldwide hit, was found dead in a western Michigan hotel, police said on Thursday.


Hatfield, 63, was found about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday by hotel workers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after he did not respond to a wake-up call before a show. Kalamazoo police said there were no signs of foul play and that, while an autopsy would be conducted, Hatfield apparently died of natural causes.


Hatfield and his singing partner, Bill Medley, got together in 1961 in Southern California. They were performing in a local bar as part of a five-piece group called the Paramours when a Marine shouted "That's righteous, brothers," leading to the name.


With producer Phil Spector providing his "wall of sound," The Righteous Brothers produced a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Unchained Melody" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." But "Lovin' Feeling," released in 1964, was their biggest hit, and industry experts rank it as the most-played radio song of all time.


The two split for a time in the late 1960s, but reunited and had a few hits in the mid-1970s. Their star rose again in 1990, when "Unchained Melody" was used in the film "Ghost."


Medley and Hatfield had continued to tour and perform a few months a year in Las Vegas. The two were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.


Hatfield is survived by his wife and four children.

Last Righteous Brother Sings at Service
(AP, 11/11/2003 11:38:00PM)

By Chelsea J. Carter

One Righteous Brother bid another goodbye as hundreds of the late Bobby Hatfield's fans turned out to celebrate a remarkable musical partnership and a life of good living at a memorial service Tuesday.

After sharing memories of Hatfield, Bill Medley sat alone at a piano to perform the gospel song "Precious Lord."

"I do this for the Hatfield family. And only for you, Bobby, would I do this," said Medley, whose hits with Hatfield included "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

Hatfield, whose soaring tenor blended with Medley's silken baritone to create the "blue-eyed soul" of the Righteous Brothers, died last week at age 63 in a hotel room in Kalamazoo, Mich., shortly before a performance.

Hundreds turned out at the public memorial service at the non-denominational Mariners Church in Irvine. There were pictures of Hatfield and a video montage of the Righteous Brothers performing their best-known songs.

"I'm going to miss our two-part harmony. I'm going to miss our rock and roll. I'm going to miss looking to my right on stage and seeing my friend," Medley said. "It was a marriage with all the good and the bad. ... It never got old, singing rock and roll, ever."

Comedian Brad Garrett of the TV show "Everybody Loves Raymond " recalled opening for the Righteous Brothers in the late 1980s.

He said Hatfield treated him like family by kidding him constantly.

"Bobby was really a mentor because he was the only one who could out-drink and out-gamble me," he joked.

Garrett said the first time they had dinner together, Hatfield warned him not to eat garlic bread, telling him it would give him "dragon breath." For days afterward, Garrett said, Hatfield teased him about his breath.

At one point, Garrett said, he took the stage and saw that Hatfield had taped a can of breath spray to the microphone.

Tuesday, January 6, 2004 Posted: 10:59 AM EST (1559 GMT)


KALAMAZOO, Michigan (AP) -- Righteous Brothers singer Bobby Hatfield's death in November was caused by cocaine and not just heart failure, according to the official autopsy report.

Dr. Richard Tooker, chief medical examiner for Kalamazoo County, told the Kalamazoo Gazette in Tuesday's editions that Hatfield's death was triggered by acute cocaine intoxication.

Hatfield, 63, died November 5 just hours before a Righteous Brothers concert. He and his partner, Bill Medley, had hits like "Unchained Melody," and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

"This is a shock to me," Medley told The Orange County (Calif.) Register from his Newport Beach, California, home. "I never saw him (use cocaine). I knew absolutely nothing about it. If I had known, I would have said something to him."

An initial autopsy found Hatfield had advanced coronary disease. A heart attack due to the disease was listed on Hatfield's death certificate.

However, Tooker said a final cause of death was not determined until after toxicology reports were completed. The death certificate will be changed to reflect cocaine as the cause of death, he said.

Tooker's office received the report of cocaine intoxication on December 24, but he asked for the information to be released after the holidays out of respect to Hatfield's family.

Messages left Tuesday with Tooker and the William Morris Agency, which represents the Righteous Brothers, were not returned.