Unchained Melody

"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret. North composed the music as a theme for its namesake 1955 prison film. The version of the song in the film's soundtrack was sung by Todd Duncan. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with the version recorded by the Righteous Brothers in 1965 notable in its own right. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 singers, in multiple languages. Of the hundreds of recordings made, the Righteous Brothers' version, 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 acquired renewed attention when it was featured in the 1990 film Ghost. In 2004, it was number 27 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.