12
Like so many of his best ballad tracks,
Marty
Robbins’
version of
Unchained Melody
shows great
warmth and a touch or drama. It is accessible, yet in
no way excessive.
Gary Troxel, Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis
made some beautiful music together. Known as
The
Fleetwoods,
they began singing together in 1958
when they attended Olympia High School in
Washington. Their earliest recording efforts were
overseen by Bonnie Guitar and Bob Reisdorff, who had
just started his Dolton label. Between 1959 and 1963 the
Fleetwoods amassed nine Top 40 hits. Many of the
Fleetwoods early recordings were performed a cappella and
later sweetened with tasteful instrumental overdubs. Their
version of
Unchained Melody
originally appeared on their ‘Mr.
Blue’
LP with minimal accompaniment. Here we present it in
its ‘pure’ form, revealing the richness of the group’s three part
harmonies. If there is a prettier version of
Unchained Melody
on this collection, we don’t know what it is.
Ricky Nelson
was 18 years old when he cut
Unchained
Melody
for Imperial and the track reveals his tender years.
Fans of Ricky’s will love it but the song’s lyrics really render
it a poor choice for both teenage and female vocalists. It
was written for a lonely, adult horny guy stuck in prison or
somehow isolated from his lover. At 18 Ricky lived with his
