"(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" was the first and only
major hit for American popgroup The Righteous Brothers after
parting ways with their long time producer, Phil Spector, as
well as the title track to the album. The single peaked at #1
on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian CHUM Charts as
well as reaching #15 on the UK Singles Chart.
After leaving Spector's Philles Records in late 1965, citing
personal difficulties with the producer , the duo made the jump
to the mostly jazz-oriented Verve label and teamed up with
Songwriters Hall of Famers, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who
were then part of the legendary Brill Building pop machine in
New York City. Mann and Weil had already co-written the group's
previous #1, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" with Spector,
and were familiar with their style and capabilities. The
production, by group baritone Bill Medley, with reverbing
pop-orchestra and soaring female back-up choir, is highly
imitative of Spector's "Wall of Sound" and doesn't contrast the
sound of the group's early hits.
This would, however, mark the end of the group's peak in
popularity. Although they would chart again with their next
single, the religiously-oriented "He"(#18 US), before briefly
splitting in 1968, they would not break the top-10 again until
reuniting in 1974 with "Rock and Roll Heaven", an ode to fallen
musical comrades.
In 1972, reggae artist Paddy Corea covered the tune
instrumentally for UK-label, Trojan Records'. The song is
currently available on the 1995 cover-compilation
Keep on Running.
Donnie & Marie Osmond released a version for their 1977
album
A Winning Combination.
In 1990, country music group The Oak Ridge Boys recorded a
cover version for the soundtrack to the film
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys. Their version peaked
at #31 on the
BillboardHot Country Singles & Tracks charts.