The Righteous Brothers

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Jimmy Walker



Jimmy Walker

Jimmy Walker | Create your badgeJIMMY AND HIS BAND ARE AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS. PLEASE CONTACT MYSPACE OR FACEBOOK. THANK YOU.

Most people would know the RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (BILL MEDLEY & BOBBY HATFIELD) for their mega worldwide hits “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Unchained Melody” (remember the steamy pottery scene in the “Ghost” movie?).



“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was their first major hit single in 1965. Produced by Phil Spector, the record is often cited as one of the peak expressions of Spector’s Wall of Sound production techniques. One of the most successful pop singles of its time (despite exceeding the standard length for radio play), it remains the most played song in radio history, estimated to have been broadcasted over 8 millions times to date!



Despite all their success, the duo became increasingly frustrated with Phil Spector and in late 1965, they broke their contract with Philles Records and signed with Verve, a division of MGM Records.

They released a string of top quality singles (including "Soul & Inspiration") before breaking-up in 1968.



But the story doesn’t end there, and after a few solo releases, Bobby Hatfield teamed up with a new partner, JIMMY WALKER of the KNICKERBOCKERS (of “Lies” fame). For more info on that great band, check out Ron’s excellent page on Myspace. Jimmy was the Knicks’ drummer and was also the lead-singer on several of their songs. As Ron rightly put it, “for their era, an absolute monster player!”

www.myspace.com/theknickerbockers



For a period of four years and a half, the ‘new’ Righteous Brothers toured extensively, appeared on several TV shows including the Smothers Brothers, Joey Bishop, Della Reese and Glen Campbell Shows and recorded an album called “RE-BIRTH” in 1969 for Verve.



Produced mainly by BARRY RILLERA (who played lead-guitar and saxophone on the album) and Jimmy Walker (who also played drums on the album), “Re-birth” is made of original songs and covers like “You Don’t Know Like I Know” (Sam & Dave), “Born On The Bayou” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” (Jackie De Shannon). The influences range from Soul, Pop R&B to Blues and with even a touch of Country (“Good N’Nuff” and “Po’ Folks”) and Gospel (Walker’s written track “Nobody Is Gonna Take Me”).



Here’s a few critics at the time when the record was released-

“Big sounding vocal arrangements, well sung and with first class musical backing- that’s the offering of the Righteous Brothers. Their voices blend perfectly and with a little help from some vocal girlfriends, they turn in exciting and satisfying versions of songs like “Woman, Man Needs Ya”, “Born On The Bayou”, “And The Party Goes On” and “Put A Little Love In Your Heart”.

“Great musical and big vocal performances”.

“If you are looking for the sound of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” you could be a bit disappointed with this “Re-birth” set. New man Jimmy Walker has joined forces with original brother Bobby Hatfield on a really superb album which is funky and earthy in a different way to their first big hit mentioned above. Hear it with an open mind and I bet you’ll love it.”



Two singles were issued in America, “Woman, Man Needs Ya”/ “And The Party Goes On” and “Po’ Folks”/ “Good N’ Nuff”.

Written by DICK MONDA, “Woman, Man Needs Ya” is a beautiful love ballad in the typical vein of the Brothers, with a great chemistry of heartfelt vocals.

The female backing-vocals and production are not dissimilar to the late-60’s Elvis, in particular with a song like “Suspicious Mind”!



Barry Rillera’s musical background is a story in itself. Barry and his brother Rick had a band in Orange County, California, in the 50’s called the Rhythm Rockers. One of their lead-singers was Richard Berry who wrote the classic party song “Louie Louie”. Barry worked as a furniture mover with Bill Medley, who eventually started singing with the Rhythm Rockers. Bobby Hatfield was attending Long Beach State with Barry and invited him to play at a fraternity party at the school. Barry brought Bill to sing and younger brother Butch Rillera played the drums. That was the night the Righteous Brothers first sang together… The Rillera brothers played and recorded with them throughout the 60’s. However, they didn’t play on the Spector singles such as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” where Phil used his “wall of sound” studio musicians. Barry also played saxophone with Dick Dale & the Deltones and guitar for Ray Charles in the mid-60’s. And he even worked as tour director for the Righteous Brothers up until a few years ago. Still active, he’s got a nice Blues CD available on CDBaby and a website www.barryrillera.com



Jimmy Walker is also playing and recording. Produced and arranged by Jeff Palmer at Palmer’s Studio in Vegas, his recent CD “PLAYIN’ TO WIN” contains original songs all written by Walker. He described the album as “Rhythm’n’Blues with different beats and feels”. The overall mood is certainly not short of diverse black music influences, authentically delivered by his powerful and soulful vocals. The tracks are a nice mix of Soul, Funk and Blues and names like Otis Redding, Ray Charles and James Brown amongst others come to mind.

Check out the blogs for more details!



During his time with the Righteous Brothers, Jimmy also recorded four solo singles. "Always Leaving, Always Gone / "Down In My Broken Dreams" in 1969 for Challenge Records, which was the Knickerbockers' record label.

This was followed by three singles released on Columbia Records and produced by Jerry Fuller-

"Dawn (Go Away)" / "The Greatest Love" (1969)"I Got The Best Of You" / "Your Past Is Beginning To Show" (1969)"Chop No Wood" / "Feel The Warm" (1970). He also appeared on the VANISHING POINT soundtrack, a great cult road movie from 1971 with "Where Do We Go From Here". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_Point

After leaving the Righteous Brothers, Jimmy played in several Soul/Funk bands including FATBACK, OASIS (Tower Of Power style) and HOT STREET with Blues guitarist Bruce Conte (ex-Tower Of Power).



Sadly, Bobby Hatfield passed away in November 2003 while on tour, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.



Please check Jimmy's profile on Myspace: www.myspace.com/jimmywalkerprofile