About The Song
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.
Barbara Desetto