Peter Kline

Bobby Hatfield, One Of The Righteous Bros. Dies

Hatfield of Righteous Brothers Dies at 63

DETROIT - Bobby Hatfield, whose soaring tenor blended with partner Bill Medley's silken baritone to create the "blue-eyed soul" of the Righteous Brothers, has died in a Kalamazoo hotel, his manager said. He was 63.

Hatfield's body was discovered in his bed Wednesday evening, 30 minutes before the duo was to perform at Miller Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus, manager David Cohen said.

The duo, whose 42-year career featured pop standbys like "Unchained Melody," "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," were in Kalamazoo to kick off a four-day series of performances in Michigan and Ohio.

"It's a shock, a real shock," Cohen said during a telephone interview. Medley, he said, was "broken up. He's not even coherent."

The cause of death was unknown. Hatfield's body was taken to Lansing, where an autopsy was to be performed, Joe Hakim, an executive with the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, told the Kalamazoo Gazette.

John Watson

That's a shock to me. I was just listening to my RB cd's, and feeling frustrated that I didn't know which one of the guys was which, but admiring some of their older R&B work outs.

I liked them from their "My Babe" and "Little Latin Lupe Lu" days, and still have a vinyl album I bought then.

In my recent cd listening, I was surprised to find a disk I have of their older materiel was OOP, and someone was asking $99 for it on Amazon. I wasn't planning on selling it anyway.

Anyway, if there's a Rock and Roll heaven, Bobby Hatfield will be there.

Thanks for posting the pic, so I know which guy it was.

PS Seem to remember a post here a few months ago, about the Righteous Bros being inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame. Well Deserved.

Danny Tse

This is a real shocker! RIP Mr. Hatfield

John, the RB was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame earlier this year. They were inducted into the Hall by Billy Joel, who had this humorous speech about growing up with their music.

Clint B

Very sad news indeed. But isn't the picture in the first post of Bill Medley, the surviving "brother?"