I was about 4 when The Righteous Brothers had their first big hit with You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. Along with The Beatles, and Elvis, The Righteous Brothers made up an important part of my early musical landscape. Billy Joel would have been 16 at the time of that first hit. It seems obvious to me that The Righteous Brothers were important to his musical upbringing, too. How can I say that with such certainty? Well, in 2003, when The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they asked Billy Joel to introduce them. Why would they do that? It had a lot to do with Joel’s song, Until the Night.
Until the Night is from Billy Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street. Out of his 20-year career and dozens upon dozens of songs, Until the Night is easily my favorite. Joel has been very open about the inspiration for the song: The Righteous Brothers and the “Wall of Sound” created by Phil Spector.
Let’s start with The Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley (baritone) and Bobby Hatfield (tenor) came together after singing with other groups. A mutual friend suggested that they should sing together. According to Hatfield, the name Righteous Brothers came while they were performing before a group of African American Marines. The Marines would shout, “That was righteous, brothers!” and the name stuck.
Their first big hit came in 1964 with You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling under Phil Spector’s production. The Righteous Brothers had an on and off again career, with many hits, including another favorite of mine: Soul and Inspiration. While Bill Medley still performs as The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield died in 2003, so he is performing with another tenor.
Phil Spector is an interesting . . . character. He was at one time the single most important record producer in the nation. He started the idea that the studio was an important instrument in itself. And he pioneered the Wall of Sound. As an example: he would have a piano, an electric piano, and a harpsichord all playing the same part. Could you, listening to it, pick out the individual instruments? No. But the texture of the finished sound would be fuller than the solo instruments. Spector called it a Wagnerian approach to producing. (After Richard Wagner, on opera composer from the late 1800s, well-known for huge, bombastic productions – and for a lot more, but that’s another blog!)
By 1981, Spector had faded out of the music business and had become something of a recluse. However, he blasted forward into public notice in 2003, when an actress named Lana Clarkson was found dead of a gunshot wound in his home. Following a trial in 2008, Spector was found guilty of murder and is currently serving his sentence in California. He will be eligible for parole in 2025.
Well, that brought the mood down quite a bit, didn’t it?
Let’s get back to Until the Night.
I never ask you where you go
After I leave you in the morning
We go our different ways to separate situations
It’s not that easy anymore
Today I do what must be done
I give my time to total strangers
But now it feels as though the day goes on forever
More than it ever did before
(Chorus)
Until the night, until the night
I just might make it
Until the night, until the night
When I see you again
Now you’re afraid that we have changed
And I’m afraid we’re getting older
So many broken hearts, so many lonely faces
So many lovers come and gone
I’ll have my fears like every man
You’ll have your tears like every woman
Today we’ll be unsure, is this what we believe in
And wonder how can we go on (to Chorus)
When the sun goes down
And the day is over
And the last of the light has gone
As they pour into the street
I will be getting closer
As the cars turn their headlights on
As they’re closing it down
I’m gonna open it up
And while they’re going to sleep
We’ll just be starting to touch
I’m just beginning to feel
I’m just beginning to give
I’m just beginning to feel
I’m just beginning to live
Before I leave you again
Before the light of dawn
Before this evening can end
I have been waiting so long (to Chorus)
This is a song about a couple that have been together for a few years. They are still very much in love. During the day, they each go to their own, outside lives. But, at night, they are together again. It is no surprise that Bill Medley covered this song in his 1981 album Sweet Thunder. It really does have the feel of the early Righteous Brothers hits like Soul and Inspiration or You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling combined with the Spector Wall of Sound.
What is your favorite Billy Joel song? Or how about The Righteous Brothers? Let me know in the comments below. I’ll be playing some of my favorites this week on my Minnich Music FaceBook page this week, so be sure to check them out.
Until next time!
Until the Night is from Billy Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street. Out of his 20-year career and dozens upon dozens of songs, Until the Night is easily my favorite. Joel has been very open about the inspiration for the song: The Righteous Brothers and the “Wall of Sound” created by Phil Spector.
Let’s start with The Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley (baritone) and Bobby Hatfield (tenor) came together after singing with other groups. A mutual friend suggested that they should sing together. According to Hatfield, the name Righteous Brothers came while they were performing before a group of African American Marines. The Marines would shout, “That was righteous, brothers!” and the name stuck.
Their first big hit came in 1964 with You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling under Phil Spector’s production. The Righteous Brothers had an on and off again career, with many hits, including another favorite of mine: Soul and Inspiration. While Bill Medley still performs as The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield died in 2003, so he is performing with another tenor.
Phil Spector is an interesting . . . character. He was at one time the single most important record producer in the nation. He started the idea that the studio was an important instrument in itself. And he pioneered the Wall of Sound. As an example: he would have a piano, an electric piano, and a harpsichord all playing the same part. Could you, listening to it, pick out the individual instruments? No. But the texture of the finished sound would be fuller than the solo instruments. Spector called it a Wagnerian approach to producing. (After Richard Wagner, on opera composer from the late 1800s, well-known for huge, bombastic productions – and for a lot more, but that’s another blog!)
By 1981, Spector had faded out of the music business and had become something of a recluse. However, he blasted forward into public notice in 2003, when an actress named Lana Clarkson was found dead of a gunshot wound in his home. Following a trial in 2008, Spector was found guilty of murder and is currently serving his sentence in California. He will be eligible for parole in 2025.
Well, that brought the mood down quite a bit, didn’t it?
Let’s get back to Until the Night.
I never ask you where you go
After I leave you in the morning
We go our different ways to separate situations
It’s not that easy anymore
Today I do what must be done
I give my time to total strangers
But now it feels as though the day goes on forever
More than it ever did before
(Chorus)
Until the night, until the night
I just might make it
Until the night, until the night
When I see you again
Now you’re afraid that we have changed
And I’m afraid we’re getting older
So many broken hearts, so many lonely faces
So many lovers come and gone
I’ll have my fears like every man
You’ll have your tears like every woman
Today we’ll be unsure, is this what we believe in
And wonder how can we go on (to Chorus)
When the sun goes down
And the day is over
And the last of the light has gone
As they pour into the street
I will be getting closer
As the cars turn their headlights on
As they’re closing it down
I’m gonna open it up
And while they’re going to sleep
We’ll just be starting to touch
I’m just beginning to feel
I’m just beginning to give
I’m just beginning to feel
I’m just beginning to live
Before I leave you again
Before the light of dawn
Before this evening can end
I have been waiting so long (to Chorus)
This is a song about a couple that have been together for a few years. They are still very much in love. During the day, they each go to their own, outside lives. But, at night, they are together again. It is no surprise that Bill Medley covered this song in his 1981 album Sweet Thunder. It really does have the feel of the early Righteous Brothers hits like Soul and Inspiration or You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling combined with the Spector Wall of Sound.
What is your favorite Billy Joel song? Or how about The Righteous Brothers? Let me know in the comments below. I’ll be playing some of my favorites this week on my Minnich Music FaceBook page this week, so be sure to check them out.
Until next time!
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