Here’s another brief entry for my blog readers while we let Gordon Lightfoot finish up the weekend. ELO will be here on Monday.
1965 Righteous Brothers – Just Once In My Life
Not even reaching the top ten on the Hot 100 is enough to get airplay anymore.
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, which topped the Hot 100 in early 1965. They wrote (You’re My) Soul And Inspiration as a potential follow-up to the hit, but producer Phil Spector felt it was too much like their recent hit. He asked Carole King to write a song for the duo, and she and Gerry Goffin came up with Just Once In My Life. Jack Nitzsche arranged the record and Phil produced it and also got listed as a co-writer.
The single peaked at #9 on the Hot 100 in 1965, but I never heard the song until I bought their greatest hits album a few years later. I loved the song and remain baffled by how little airplay it gets.
As for Soul And Inspiration, when the Righteous Brothers split from Phil’s record company, Bill Medley produced the song himself as their first recording without Phil. Bill created his own personal Wall Of Sound, giving the record a familiar feel. The single gave the group their second number one hit in 1966.
They never reached the top of the charts again, although they got close in 1974 when Rock And Roll Heaven reached #3 on the Hot 100.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Brothers#Singles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Once_in_My_Life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(You%27re_My)_Soul_and_Inspiration
What Was Left In 