(“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” is a song written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil)
It was first recorded by the Righteous Brothers in 1964, and was produced by Phil Spector.
Their recording is considered by some music critics to be the ultimate expression and illustration of Spector’s “Wall of Sound” recording technique.
It has also been described by various music writers as “one of the best records ever made” and “the ultimate pop record”.
The original Righteous Brothers version was a critical and commercial success on its release, becoming a number-one hit single in both the United States and the United Kingdom in February 1965.
It was the fifth best selling song of 1965 in the US. It also entered the Top 10 in the UK chart on an unprecedented three separate occasions.
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” has been covered successfully by numerous artists.
A 1965 hit cover by Cilla Black reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.
Dionne Warwick took her version to number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969.
A 1971 duet version by singers Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway peaked at number 30 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.
Long John Baldry charted at number 2 in Australia with his 1979 remake and a 1980 version by Hall and Oates reached number 12 on the US Hot 100.
In December 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) ranked the song as the most-played song on American radio and television in the 20th century, having accumulated more than 8 million airplays by 1999, and nearly 15 million by 2011.
Additionally, the song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA and ranked No. 34 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
(in 2015, the single was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”)