Who was the first person to sing unchained melody?
Todd Duncan 1) “Origin of song: In 1955, Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted to write a song as a theme for the obscure prison film Unchained, and their song eventually became known as the “Unchained Melody”. The song doesn’t actually include the word “unchained”, and songwriter Zaret chose instead to focus his lyrics on someone who pines for a lover he hasn’t seen in a “long, lonely time”. The 1955 film centers around a man who contemplates either escaping from prison, to live life on the run, or completing his sentence and returning to his wife and family. The lyrics note, “Lonely rivers sigh, ‘ Wait for me… I’ll be coming home; wait for me’…”.[] Unable to see them for years, he pleas, “I need your love, God speed your love to me”. With Todd Duncan singing the vocals, the song was nominated for an Oscar in 1955, but the Best-Song award went to the rival hit song “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” (which was extensively re-played, and sung in that film). – Early versio
