(You're My) Soul And Inspiration by The Righteous Brothers

Album: Soul And Inspiration (1966)

Charted: 15 1

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

With soaring vocals and a symphonic arrangement, this song bears a strong resemblance to the Righteous Brothers' breakout hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." That song was written by the Brill Building songwriting duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and produced by Phil Spector. When it became a #1 hit in 1965, Spector asked Mann and Weil to write another one, and they came up with "Soul And Inspiration." They saw it as a carbon copy of "Lovin' Feelin'," however, and didn't deliver it to Spector.

By 1966, The Righteous Brothers had signed a $1 million deal with MGM Records and needed a hit to please their new corporate overlords. Medley remembered the tune Mann and Weil had scrapped, and asked them to revive it. They reluctantly delivered the song to Medley, who produced it himself, using many of Spector's techniques.

Released as their first single for MGM, "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" returned the duo to the top of the Hot 100, where it stayed for three weeks.
The song's co-writer Cynthia Weil said of this song: "It will always be Lovin' Feelin' sideways to me."

The listening public seems to agree: While the song remains a Righteous Brothers favorite, it never had a popular resurgence like "Lovin' Feelin'" or "Unchained Melody," and is rarely heard in movies, TV shows or commercials.

Comments: 14

Paddy R from WhitestoneBefore lyrics were widely available you had to buy them in instrument stores. In the 60s it was " ...soul and my y y inspiration ( my inspiration).
Billy G from Indiana, UsaFor me it always has been, and always will be, "highest inspiration."
Rps from Kingsport TnSo what I hear and have always heard is "highest inspiration", my wife hears heart's inspiration. Sometimes I hear them both at different parts of the song.
Don Kellogg from Huntsville Al By Way Of Franklinville Nythe above lyrics are wrong in that they include-- my "heart's" inspiration.. when in actuality it should correctly say "my-y inspiration" or "my inspiration".. whichever.. just needed to say this... could not go on with the wrong ones..
Jennifur Sun from RamonaJean, would have to disagree with you. I would pick John and Paul, and then Brian Wilson. I had always thought that Phil did all their recordings, so am surprised to find out differently. Am wondering who the musicians were on the song. I know Phil used pretty much the same group of the Wrecking Crew for his recordings.
Coy from Palestine, TexasMedley says in his bio that Spector passed on the song after Mann and Weil wrote it as a follow up to "Lovin' Feeling". Bill was disappointed and when they left Philles and Spector--he decided to produce and record it as the duo's first single. It is a fantastic song and Bobby Hatfield's spoken bridge in the song is terrific. Medley was a vastly underappreciated producer --he actually also produce "Unchained Melody".
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 21st 1966, the Righteous Brothers performed "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" on the NBC-TV program 'Hullabaloo!'...
Six days later on February 27th it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #90; and on April 3rd it peaked at #1 (for 3 weeks) and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100 (and for 8 of those 13 weeks it was on the Top 10)...
Its three weeks at #1 prevented "Daydream" by the Lovin’ Spoonful and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Cher from reaching #1, both peaked at #2...
In 1978 Donny & Marie Osmond covered it; their version reached #38 on the Top 100...
And on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart the Oak Ridge Boys' covered version peaked at #31 in 1990...
The B-side of the Righteous Brothers' version was titled "B-Side Blues"...
R.I.P. Bobby Hatfield (1940 - 2003) and Bill Medley will celebrate his 74th birthday this coming September 19th (2014).
Jean from Owensboro, KyMann & Weil are arguably the most prolific and lyrical writers of the rock era, and they wrote more for the Righteous Brothers than the songs "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Mann & Weil were close friends of the Brothers and wrote for both of them, together and separately, throughout their careers.
Dryattz from Atlanta, GaAlthough I've always been a big fan of the Brothers, I've frequently cited this song as an example of what happens when the melody is written first, and the words are grafted onto it afterward. The chorus' highest and most powerful note has no word or syllable associated with it, sounding like "You're my soul, and my-EYE inspiration." The lyrics on this webpage feature what many have done - stuck a word in where one should be (in this case, "my HEART'S inspiration"). Elsewhere, amateur lyric transcribers use "my LIFE'S inspiration" and "my HIGH inspiration." Fewer use "MY inspiration," although an online search turns those up, too. But if you listen carefully, you'll hear the problem: the words don't fit the melody.
Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, CaBilly Medley showed he knew exactly what the Phil Spector sound was, and even tho they used a different arranger than Gene Page or Jack Nitzchie
(did I spell that right?,lol) in the personage of Bill Baker, he hit it right on the head, and the public thought so also...it became no.1...great record!
Quebec_zeus from Quebec CityThe really album is: Soul And Inspiration
Steve from Fenton, MoIt's a pity that more great songs weren't passed to these two singers, because they sure knew how to sing a great song. Another terrific record.
Brian from Meriden, CtOne of the great records of one of the most legit soul acts of all time. Whether the production work was by the great Phil Spector or Medley's own the all-time greatest blue-eyed soul act put more emotion into a performance than just about anyone. Couldn't agree more, Vince.
Vince from Phoenix, AzMy favorite tune of all-time. Bill Medley deserves major kudos for his production work here. Everything Mann & Weil wrote for the Righteous Brothers was awesome. Gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Hey JudeThe Beatles

Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to comfort John Lennon's 5-year-old son Julian, whose parents were getting a divorce.

The Great PretenderThe Platters

The Pretenders are named after the 1956 song "The Great Pretender" by The Platters.

BrickBen Folds Five

The Ben Folds Five song "Brick" is about a difficult time when Folds' girlfriend got an abortion.

Bad RomanceLady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a big fan of horror movies; listen for the names of these three Alfred Hitchcock films in the lyrics to "Bad Romance": Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.

Paul RevereBeastie Boys

In Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere," the title refers to the name of a horse. They took it from a song in the musical Guys And Dolls where a character sings, "I got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere."

Wild ThingTone-Loc

Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing" samples Eddie Van Halen's guitar riff from "Jaime's Cryin'."