Bobby Hatfield - Messin' In Muscle Shoals 1970

After the break-up of the Righteous Brothers in 1968, Bobby Hatfield's first solo release was the Mann/Weil song 'Hang Ups', which he produced himself, followed by the self-penned autobiographical 'Brothers'. Verve Records then decided to record him performing standards from the 1950s like 'Only You', 'My Prayer' and 'Answer Me'. There was an unissued album from this period. Hatfield, who had already appeared in the films Swingin' Summer and Beach Ball with Bill Medley, also appeared in the TV movie The Ballad Of Andy Crocker which was intended a pilot for a TV series.

In 1969, a year after honouring the contractual condition, Bobby Hatfield took the extraordinary and bizarre decision to replace Bill Medley in the Righteous Brothers with Jimmy Walker of the Knickerbockers. This partnership lasted for just one album, 'Rebirth', although the act did tour and appeared on several TV shows.

Following the inevitable break-up of this new partnership, Bobby Hatfield went to Rick Hall's Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record his only released solo LP 'Messin' In Muscle Shoals'. A complete departure from anything that he had recorded previously, it was a vibrant album combining the splendour of Bobby Hatfield's vocals coupled with the captivating Muscle Shoals sound. With bankruptcy looming, MGM Records was in turmoil at this time and the LP went almost completely unnoticed by the record buying public. The scheduled single from the album, 'The Promised Land'/'Woman You Got No Soul' was never issued.

In 1972 on Warner Brothers Records he recorded what is arguably his best solo track, a Richard Perry-produced version of 'Stay With Me', a song perfectly suited to Bobby Hatfield who gave a virtuoso performance. He also recorded a version of another soul classic, 'Oo Wee Baby I Love You', in London.

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