Blonde56 wrote:
I remember reading he was offered "Unchanged Melody" and turned it down. Years later after it was a hit for the Righteous Brothers, he recorded it.
Warner Brothers produced a prison movie called Unchained. Alex North was hired by WB to write a title song, he used an unpublished tune he had written in the 1930s and worked with the lyricist Hy Jaret for the final song.
The song was completed and included in the movie, the longing for love is one of the centrals themes of the picture. At the same time Kathryn Grant was released from her Paramount contract and was looking for a job, she tested for a part in the picture and got it. Kathryn Grant and Barbara Hale played the leading parts, with Kathryn portraying Sally Haskins, the significant other of a prisoner.
Warner Brothers producers were pleased with thesweet innocence in her performance on a charged scene in the prison yard, and thougt that her role had dramatic possibilities, after completing her job in WB she was offered a contract with Columbia Pictures and within a year (after two bit parts) she was one of the most promising Columbia stars, starring in four pictures per year and receiving top-billing in several short movies.
The song serves as an emotional hymn dedicated to the missed loved ones of the prisoners, a sentiment portrayed through the characters played by Kathryn Grant, Barbara Hale, and Peggy Knudsen.
When Unchained, premiered in January of 1955 Kathryn was already romantically involved with Bing, who asked her just few weeks after the premier, to accompany him to the Oscars, It's likely that Bing discovered the song due to Kathryn’s role in the film he. As it was a WB project is unlikely, they considered a Paramount star like Bing to introduce the song in the picture and the choice of the unknown vocalist Todd Duncan suggests they didn’t expected much of it. In the months after the picture’s release the song became quite popular and performed well on the charts.
Bing recorded Unchained Melody on June 9, 1955 with Buddy Cole and his trio and he helped popularize it by broadcasting it 6 more times in his weekly radio show in 1955 alone. This recording was one of the earliest made, years before the Righteous Borthers version.
He even included the song on the episode that aired on November 25 the birthday of Kathryn. A nod to Kathryn's role in the picture.
Last edited by Pantelis Kavouras (12/4/2025 9:28 pm)
