Artist:The Righteous Brothers
Song:Rock and Roll Heaven
Album:The Definitive Collection
Of course most long time music fans will remember The Righteous Brothers for their 60s hits like You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. But do you remember their big comeback with the 1974 top five hit Rock and Roll Heaven? The end of The Righteous Brothers initial run came when they left Philles Records for MGM/Verve Records in 1966. Obviously they left for more money and Bill Medley produced their Verve recordings. The Righteous Brothers faded quickly and split up in Feb. 1968. I guess they thought they could get along without Phil Spector's production but they were wrong. Medley and Hatfield both recorded solo with little success. Medley was performing regularly in Las Vegas and Hatfield wasn't doing anything when they announced on a 1974 episode of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour that they were reuniting. They signed with Haven Records owned by the production team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and distributed by Capitol. They went on to have great success with Glen Campbell. Rock and Roll Heaven was the first single from the 1974 album Give It To the People. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. If you have heard this song, you'll know it was about dead rock stars. The song was written by veteran songwriter Alan O'Day (Undercover Angel) and Johnny Stevenson. Stevenson was the keyboardist for the band Climax. They topped the charts with the 1973 single Precious and Few. Rock and Roll Heaven was on that album but was not a hit. It would turn out to be Stevenson's only big hit as a songwriter. A couple more songs from the album charted. But when their second album on Haven didn't sell, they split up. Medley's wife had died and he wanted to stay home and take care of his son. You can get all The Righteous Brothers hits on this budget comp. They reunited occasionally after that. And of course Medley scored a big hit with The Time of My Life from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. It ended for good when Hatfield died on Nov. 5, 2003. Medley still performs but he is currently on his retirement tour which will end early in 2025. Here's the video for Rock and Roll Heaven by The Righteous Brothers.
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