Unchained Melody |Sax Moods

Sax Moods is comprised of various Sax musicians whose specialities are geared at fine tuning your easy moods.

Unchained Melody. It is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret.

In 1954, North was contracted to compose the score for the prison film Unchained (released in 1955). North composed and recorded the score, and then was asked to write a song based upon the movie’s theme.

North asked Hy Zaret to write the lyrics, 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.” Zaret refused the producer’s request to include the word “unchained” in his lyrics.

The song eventually became known as the “Unchained Melody” even though the song does not actually include the word “unchained”. Instead, Zaret chose to focus on someone who pines for a lover he has not seen in a “long, lonely time”.

Of the hundreds of recordings made, the Righteous Brothers’ version in July 1965, with a solo by Bobby Hatfield, became the jukebox standard after its release. Hatfield changed the melody in the final verse and many subsequent covers of the song are based on his version.

The Righteous Brothers recording achieved a second round of great popularity when featured in the film Ghost in 1990. In 2004, it was number 27 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Wiki

Enjoy!