"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" is a song by the American pop duo

the Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

. It was the group's first hit after leaving their long-time producer

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

. The song was written by

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...

and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940 – June 1, 2023) was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2011, they jointly received the ...

; the duo also wrote the group's first hit "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers. This version, produced by Spector, is cited by some music critics as the ultimat ...

" along with Phil Spector. It is the title track of their album. The single peaked at No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the No. 3 single for 1966.

Background

The song was written by

and

, part of the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...

pop machine in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. They first began writing it following the success of the Righteous Brothers' first single with Phil Spector, "

", which they also wrote. However, the song was not completed, as they thought it sounded too much like "Lovin' Feelin", and Spector chose instead to record

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

's " Just Once in My Life" as the duo's second single. After leaving Spector's

Philles Records Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. In 1962, Spector p ...

in late 1965, the Righteous Brothers moved to the mostly

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-oriented Verve label.

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...

of the Righteous Brothers then asked Mann about the incomplete "Soul and Inspiration" that the songwriters had played for Medley when they first started writing it, and asked them to complete the song. Mann and Weil complied, and the Righteous Brothers then recorded the finished song in late 1965. The song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche, who had arranged many of Phil Spector's records, and Medley produced the song in a style like the sound of the group's early hits with Spector. Medley was able to imitate Spector's "

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

" technique with

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

ing pop-orchestration and a soaring female backup

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. Some of the session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, such as keyboard player Don Randi, pianist Michel Rubini and bassist Jimmy Bond, were hired for the recording. Other musicians on this record included Art Munson on guitar, Michael Patterson on piano, Drew Johnson on drums, Bill Baker (who also arranged the song) on sax, Dick Shearer on trombone, and Bill King, Sanford Skinner and Bob Faust on trumpets. It used a string section as well, and there is a spoken section by Bobby Hatfield in the bridge. The song was released on February 26, 1966, and reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it stayed at the top for three weeks. This was, however, the end of the duo's peak in popularity. Although they entered the charts with their next single, the religiously-oriented " He" (No. 18 US), before briefly splitting in 1968, they did not crack the top-10 again until reuniting in 1974 with " Rock and Roll Heaven", an

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

to deceased musicians.

Cover versions

In 1969, the vocal group the Blossoms covered the tune with Righteous Brothers member Bill Medley producing. In 1972, the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist Paddy Corea covered the tune instrumentally for the UK label

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

. The song is available on the 1995 cover-compilation ''Keep on Running''. In 1973,

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) ...

recorded an instrumental version of this song on his Trumpets & Crumpets & Things album. In 1978, Donny and Marie Osmond went to No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 18

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

with their mild pop version. In 1990, the country music group the Oak Ridge Boys recorded a cover version for the soundtrack of the film '' My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys''. This version peaked at #31 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Bill Medley himself covered the song in 1994 as a duet with fellow Phil Spector client Darlene Love.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soul And Inspiration 1966 songs 1966 singles 1978 singles 1990 singles The Righteous Brothers songs The Oak Ridge Boys songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Barry Mann Donny Osmond songs Marie Osmond songs Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Verve Records singles