Robert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer, best known as one of the Righteous Brothers singing duo.

Early life

Hatfield was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and moved with his family to Anaheim, California when he was four. A 1958 graduate of Anaheim High School, he sang in the school choir and played baseball. He briefly considered signing as a professional ballplayer, but his passion for music led him to pursue a singing career while still attending high school. He would eventually encounter his singing partner Bill Medley while attending California State University Long Beach. Hatfield was noted for his "soaring tenor" and vocal range.

Career

The pair began singing as a duo in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called the Paramours. Their first charted single as the Righteous Brothers was "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and their first #1 was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," produced by Phil Spector in 1964. Follow-up hits included the #1 "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" and "Unchained Melody", the latter of which was actually a Hatfield solo performance. The duo broke up in 1968 but returned with another hit in 1974, the #3 "Rock and Roll Heaven." The duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003 by one of their biggest fans, Billy Joel.

Death

On 5 November 2003 Hatfield died at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, apparently in his sleep. In January 2004 a toxicology report concluded that an overdose of cocaine had precipitated a fatal heart attack. The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, caused controversy with its reporting of Hatfield's death, namely with the front page headline of: "You've lost that livin' feeling".

Bibliography

External links

• Bobby Hatfield's Gravesite