The Originals © by Arnold Rypens

Artist: Todd Duncan
Author: Alex North/Hy Zaret
Year: 1955

Vocal version in black & white film Unchained, shot on location in the Chino prison in California. Nominated for an Oscar. There's this persistent but unfounded claim Hy Zaret wrote these lyrics in 1936 as a nameless poem for his girlfriend under the name William Stirret, while his real name was Hyman Zaritsky.

Covers:

1955:: Al Hibbler [blind black singer, later a notorious civil rights movement activist, n°1 R&B; released simultaneously with the Les Baxter instrumental]
1955:: Les Baxter [n°1 US; as instrumental; also from that film]
1955:: Roy Hamilton [n°1 R&B]
1955:: Jimmy Young [n°1 UK]
1955:: Crew Cuts
1955:: Chet Atkins
1955:: Liberace
1955:: Cab Calloway
1955:: Esterella [as Heden En Verleden]
1955:: Goons [parody]
1956:: Gene Vincent
1956:: Mouloudji [als Les Enchaînés]
1958:: Conway Twitty
1958:: Ricky Nelson
1958:: Harry Belafonte
1959:: Bobby Day
1960:: Charlie Rich
1960:: Ray Conniff
1961:: Cliff Richard
1961:: Tony Sheridan
1962:: Platters
1962:: Duane Eddy
1962:: Arthur Prysock
1963:: Vito & The Salutations
1964:: Waylon Jennings
1964:: Brenda Holloway
1964:: Bobby Vinton
1965:: Righteous Brothers [top 5 US, top 20 UK with just Bobby Hatfield (for Philles); reissue (for Verve) in '90 for film Ghost; top 20 US, n°1 UK & NL; new version (for Curb) top 20 US]
1965:: Dionne Warwick
1965:: Sonny & Cher
1965:: Gerry & The Pacemakers
1965:: Gene Pitney
1965:: César et les Romains [as Mon seul amour]
1966:: Supremes
1968:: Arthur Prysock
1968:: Sweet Inspirations
1968:: David Garrick [hit NL]
1969:: Roy Orbison
1969:: Roy Clark
1969:: Little Jimmy Scott
1970:: Floyd Cramer
1972:: Blue Haze
1973:: Al Green
1973:: Road
1976:: Stylistics
1977:: Elvis Presley [top 10 C&W]
1978:: Willie Nelson
1979:: George Benson
1981:: Will Tura [as Oh My Love]
1981:: Heart
1982:: Joni Mitchell [mixed in Chinese Café]
1985:: Manhattan Transfer
1986:: Richard Clayderman
1986:: Leo Sayer
1991:: Roy Hamilton
1994:: Clarence Gatemouth Brown
1994:: Christian Delagrange [as Vivre seul]
1995:: Robson & Jerome [n°1 UK in medley with There'll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs Of Dover]
1995:: Air Supply
1996:: Sven Wang [on Chinese violin]
1997:: LeAnn Rimes [top 3 C&W]
1998:: U2
1998:: Neil Diamond
2002:: Gareth Gates [fourth time n°1 UK; winner talent contest Pop Idol]
2003:: Cyndi Lauper
2005:: Il Divo [as Senza Catene]
2010:: Clay Aiken
2011:: Susan Boyle
2017:: Van Morrison
2017:: Norah Jones
2017:: Lykke Li

Alex North scored a few Hollywood superproductions like Anthony & Cleopatra and Spartacus, Hy Zaret also wrote One Meat Ball (see there). When asked to score the film Unchained, they logically came up with Unchained Melody. Todd Duncan sang it in the film, but some twenty versions on some twenty different labels competed on the charts. Big winner in America was the semi-instrumental version by Les Baxter on Capitol. One year later this bandleader had a second n°1 with The Poor People Of Paris, a (bad) translation of Edith Piaf's La Goualante du pauvre Jean. Poor People indeed means something different than Poor John.

UNCHAINED MELODY

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