You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, and first recorded by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers in 1964. It was released as the only single and title track from their 1965 album of the same name. Spector produced the recording, which many music critics consider the definitive example of his Wall of Sound technique. The single was both a critical and commercial hit, reaching number one in the United States and the United Kingdom in early February 1965. It ranked fifth on Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1965 Hot 100 hits, based on combined airplay and sales, and has entered the UK Top Ten on three separate occasions.

Numerous artists have recorded successful covers. Cilla Black's 1965 version reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Dionne Warwick's 1969 cover peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1971 duet by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway reached number 30 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Long John Baldry's 1979 remake hit number two in Australia, and a 1980 version by Hall and Oates reached number 12 on the US Hot 100.

Music writers have called the Righteous Brothers version "one of the best records ever made" and "the ultimate pop record." In 1999, the performing-rights organization BMI ranked it as the most-played song on American radio and television in the 20th century, with over 8 million airplays by that year and nearly 15 million by 2011. It held the title of most-played song for 22 years until "Every Breath You Take" surpassed it in 2019. In 2001, the RIAA selected it as one of the Songs of the Century, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 34 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2015, the Library of Congress inducted the single into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

In 1964, Phil Spector conducted a band at a San Francisco show where the Righteous Brothers also performed. Impressed, he wanted the duo to record for his label, Philles Records. All previous Philles acts had been African-American singers, making the Righteous Brothers Spector's first white vocal group. Their blue-eyed soul style suited him. Spector brought Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil from New York to Los Angeles, putting them up at the Chateau Marmont to write a song. Inspired by the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Loving," then climbing the charts, they decided on a ballad. Mann wrote the melody first, and the opening line—"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips"—came from a line in "I Love How You Love Me," a song Mann co-wrote and Spector produced: "I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me." Mann and Weil quickly wrote the first two verses and the chorus line "you've lost that lovin' feelin'." When Spector joined, he added "gone, gone, gone, whoa, whoa, whoa" to the chorus's end, which Weil disliked. The chorus line was originally a placeholder, but Spector liked it and kept it. The song follows a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. Mann and Weil struggled with the bridge and ending, so Spector helped, experimenting on the piano with a "Hang On Sloopy" riff that they built on for the bridge.

Weil recalled that after they finished writing, they took the song to the Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley, who sang the low part, seemed to like it, but initially felt it didn't suit their uptempo R&B style. Mann and Spector had sung it in a higher key, and Medley thought it would be better for the Everly Brothers. The song had a wide range and was originally in the key of F, but to fit Medley's baritone, it was lowered to C♯ for the recording. Slowing the song down also changed its "whole vibe," according to Medley. Bobby Hatfield was annoyed when he learned Medley would start the first verse alone, with Hatfield waiting until the chorus to join in—unlike their previous songs, which gave them equal prominence. When Hatfield asked what he was supposed to do during Medley's solo, Spector replied, "You can go directly to the bank!"

The Righteous Brothers recorded the song on September 26, 1964, at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. When Hatfield and Medley arrived to record vocals a few weeks later, all the instrumental tracks had already been recorded and overdubbed. They recorded the vocals many times: Medley sang the opening verse repeatedly until Spector was satisfied, then the process repeated for the next verse. The recording took over 39 takes and about eight hours over two days. The song became a prime example of Spector's Wall of Sound technique, featuring studio musicians the Wrecking Crew, including Don Randi on piano, Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Carol Kaye and Ray Pohlman on bass, and Steve Douglas on sax. Barney Kessel played guitar and Earl Palmer played drums. Jack Nitzsche usually arranged Spector's songs.