Unchained Melody - Other Versions

Other Versions

In 1955, The Goons produced a comic version of the song, sung in an inappropriately upbeat manner (and with a few added "ying-tongs") by Peter Sellers, in character as "Bluebottle". They were forced by the rights holders to remove the recording from retail stores, under threat of suit, because it was felt their version was "disrespectful."

Line Renaud recorded different versions of the song in 1956, sung in both French and Spanish.

The song was released on a B-side by Merri Gail in 1957 for Cha Cha Records, accompanied by an accordion.

Another early version was by teen idol Ricky Nelson, issued in 1958 on the album Ricky Nelson.

Gisele Mackenzie covered the song on her 1958 solo album for RCA Victor, Gisele (LPM/LSP-1790).

The Fleetwoods released a version of the song on their 1959 album, Mr. Blue for Dolton Records.

John Gary's 3+ octave version, on his 1963 "Catch a Rising Star" album, became one of his signature songs.

Jimmy Young released a re-recorded version of his 1955 charttopper in early 1964 that only charted at #43 in the UK.

Dionne Warwick recorded a version of the song for her 1965 album The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick.

The Supremes covered the song for their album I Hear A Symphony, released in 1966.

Roy Orbison recorded a version of it for his album Many Moods, released in May 1969.

Bobby Vinton covered the song on The Love Album, released June 1971. Recordings have also been made by Cliff Richard and Conway Twitty.

Elvis Presley performed "Unchained Melody" on April 24, 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the recording of which was included on the Moody Blue album (the last released while he was alive). On June 21, just six weeks before his death, he performed "Unchained Melody" in Rapid City, S.D. for what would be his last television appearance, "Elvis In Concert"; ultimately, the song was not included on the October 3 broadcast and this version would be released the following year as a single. Both versions featured him on piano, as was invariably the case when Presley sang the song in concert.

In March 15, 1979 George Benson Released a version of the song on his album "Livin' Inside Your Love" by Warner Brother's Records INC.

In 1981, a live version performed by the band Heart peaked at #83 on the Billboard Top 100.

In 1986, Leo Sayer released a version of the song with a contemporary reworking of the "wall of sound" production technique that included an unusual electric guitar solo near the climax. The single charted in the UK only, making the Top 60.

U2 also covered the song as a B-side to their 1989 single, "All I Want Is You". They have played the track live several times, including one performance which was captured on their 1993 concert film Zoo TV: Live from Sydney.

In 1995, the song was performed by Robson Green and Jerome Flynn in the UK drama series Soldier Soldier. This version was subsequently released as a single, and quickly reached 1 in the UK, becoming one of the country's all time biggest-selling records, and has sold 1.86 million copies as of November 2012.

Also in 1995, Air Supply's album News from Nowhere contained a cover of the song.

In December 1996 country pop singer LeAnn Rimes released her rendition of the song as a single. It peaked at number three on both the Billboard Country Songs chart the Canadian RPM Country Tracks 100.

Neil Diamond covered the song on his 1998 album, The Movie Album: As Time Goes By.

R. Kelly sampled the song in 1998 in his song, "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" from the album R.

Sarah McLachlan's haunting version of the song opened Pine Ridge: An Open Letter to Allan Rock - Songs for Leonard Peltier, a benefit CD published by What Magazine on 1 November 1996; the recording was reissued in 2008 on her album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2. She also performed the song at the Leonard Peltier Defense Fund Benefit Concert on 12 February 1997.

Joni Mitchell incorporated the chorus and parts of the melody in "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody" on her 2002 Travelogue album.

Cyndi Lauper was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal" for her interpretation of the song, which appears on the At Last album. In 2006, singer Barry Manilow covered the song on his album Greatest Songs of the Fifties, and it reached 20. David Phelps recorded the song on his 2008 album The Voice.

The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.

Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox recorded a version in 2007 as Atlas Sound, and gave it away on his blog, along with a Jay Reatard cover.

Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge performed the song in concert as a tribute to Bobby Hatfield, and it appeared on their 2008 Greatest Hits Live CD.

Gareth Gates recorded a cover version of the song as his first release following his appearance on Pop Idol in the United Kingdom. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on its first week of release, and has since sold 1.34 million in the UK.

Clay Aiken recorded the song on his 2010 album Tried and True.

The Pop Opera group, Amici Forever, recorded the song in Italian, under the title, "Senza Catene" (Without Chains).

Constantine Maroulis released his version of the song as a single, which he debuted during a guest performance on American Idol on April 7, 2011.

Micheal Castaldo recorded an Italian version of the song on his 2010 album, Aceto.

Donald Braswell II recorded this song on his 2011 album, Unchained.

It will also be featured as a musical number in the upcoming GHOST The Musical.