For "You're My Soul and Inspiration" was the production of that influence by your work with Spector?

"Soul and Inspiration" was supposed to be the follow-up record to "Lovin’ Feelin’". And we were in New York with Barry and Cynthia and Phil learning that song. Then they had some sort of a disagreement and we ended up back in LA working with Carole, Carole King on "Just Once in my Life" and when we left Philles Records and went over to MGM, I called Barry and Barry and Cynthia and said, please send me that song that we were, we were learning. And they hadn't finished it, they, they hadn't even finished writing it. I said, well please finish writing it and send it to me. And so they did. And, and yes. So when I went into the studio to produce "Soul and Inspiration" because it was supposed to be the follow-up to "Lovin’ Feelin’" it, it was pretty, pretty obvious, ah, you know how, how it needed to be done, not so much that we wanted to try and, you know, rip off a, a Phil Spector production but it just had to be. If we didn't try and make it that big we just felt that it was going to send a little wimpy. And, ah, so we, we made a, what I tried to do is Spector production.

Do you think Phil Spector was threatened by that?

Well I don't Phil would, would have been threatened by me producing "Soul and Inspiration". I think, I think it might have bugged him that we had a number one hit record with kind of a Spector production but I've said a million times, I, I know for a fact that Phil would have made a better record of "Soul and Inspiration", ah, than, than I did even though it went to number one, you know, ah. He would have made a better record, don't know that it would have been a more commercial but, you know.

What was it like working with Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil.

Well Barry, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil have just become real good friends of mine and, and of Bobby's. They're just wonderful people. In my opinion the greatest writers in the industry. Period. I think they've prove it year after year after year. I mean some people get hot and they fade and get hot again or whatever. But they have been real consistent on having some of the biggest records in the industry and they just keep doing it.

What would you say about their song writing that was so great?

Well I think in the early sixties there was a lot of, you know, there was a lot of growing obviously going on and, ah, and there was a lot of bubble gum music going on and this and that. And I think, I think Barry and Cynthia had the ability to write real adult kind of young adult anyway sounding songs, you know. And Barry, Barry Mann who writes the melodies, is, loves rhythm and blues too, you know, a lot. So he, a lot of his influence is from there but he also has, he's a great piano player so he has all, you know, all that stuff to pull from. So I think just the chords and the music were a little more grown up and, and between that and, and Cynthia just writing lyrics that were so great but so understandable you, you never had to think, well what is? What do you mean by that? I mean you never close your eyes any more when I kiss your lips, there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips. It's just flat on the bottom line to this beautiful music. And I think that's why they wrote so many songs. I mean they, also Screen Gems would say, listen, Paul Peterson for the Donna Reed Show needs a hit record so write - "She Can't Find Her Keyes" and they could, you know, do that too. So they, they were, they're just the best I think.

Can you tell us what was so different about Shindig?

Well, for 1963 '64 when Shindig came on it was so honest and so authentic that, that Bobby and I were really surprised, you know, that, I mean the band was Leon Russel on piano, Billie Preston on organ and, and everybody in that, that band which was hand picked by Jack Good was a great rock and roll player. Not, again, not a jazz or swing player can kind of play it. These guys were great rock and roll players. And Jack Good just insisted that it be that honest that, you know, Bobby and I these two white guys are screaming at the top of our, our range and, you know, getting down on our knees and all that stuff. That's just what the wanted. And, ah, it was amazing that it started, started real authentic and real soulful and kind of got very vanilla. I don't know if they were scrambling for, you know, to try and get better numbers. I know that Jack Good wasn't involved at the end of it so he didn't have control over, you know, that, I mean Jack Good wanted it to be as crazy as it could. He wanted Little Richard to come out and be as wild and as crazy as he could 'cause he was from England and, and, and I guess you could get away with that over there but here it was amazing. So it was a lot of fun. We did it for about a year every week.

Was there a cast of regular performers?

Yeah, there was a phenomenal cast. Like, like I say, the band was there and then there was the Wellington Three guys and the Blossoms; Jeanie, Fenitta and Darlene Love which were the best trio in the world. They were on every major record and as a matter of fact we, we brought the Blossoms out on the road when we, you know, became pretty big nationally and they were just phenomenal. And then there was Bobby Sherman and, and Donna Lauren and then all these great dancers. There was about, I don't know, twelve girl dancers that were phenomenal and their energy was like amazing. So the show was just real fast paced. And then they would bring, you know, once a week, all, the world, they would bring the world in to do this show. And, ah, I can remember when Ray Charles came on the show, it was literally like God was doing the show. Everybody was like scared and excited and panicked that Ray was doing the show. And that was, that was a serious highlight, in my life anyway 'cause I got to meet Ray.

Ray Charles was a big influence.

Well Ray Charles, I really got turned on, you know Little Richard when I was like 14 and then B.B. King and Bobbie Bland probably about 17. And, then Ray Charles when I was about 19. And Ray Charles literally just overtook my body. I was Ray Charles for about ten years. I, he, he just literally got into my soul. I couldn't, I could not and still can't believe what the man can do vocally and from his heart and his soul. And once again it was such, such an animal thing, you know, it just wasn't thought out, just, you know. And me being a kid who dropped out of school and probably a little, a lot of anger and frustration going. That, that was just the answer for me to be able to sing like that. I got a lot of stuff out. So to sing, you know, I, I had recorded "Georgia" - [sings] Georgia, Georgia. And I still do it in my show because it's such a great song but I got that from Ray and, ah, probably if it wasn't for Ray Charles I, I maybe wouldn't have become a singer, a standup singer, maybe a song writer but not a singer. He really and because I could sound a little like Ray when I was 20 years-old, that was like real weird, you know. People thought that was really great, you know, kind of a gimmick great, you know, and, ah, so I thin that opened, you know, some doors and got us going. But I just love Ray Charles.

Did your parents think it was weird that you sounded like Ray Charles?

I don't, I don't know if my parents understood any of us. They didn't understand rock and roll and they certainly didn't understand me in there pounding on the piano for literally eight hours a day. Friends of my mom would say, listen why don't you tell that kid to shut up in there. I'm in there - I found my thrill - trying to play all this and Little Richard stuff and banging on the piano and my mom says, listen man anything that kid wants to do for eight hours a day and isn't out on the street causing trouble, I'm with him. So thank God my, my family was musical and, ah, they were, they had a band when they were kid… young. So, you know what, I never discussed the fact with them that I sounded black. I think they just thought I sounded like rock and roll and they were from the, the swing era, you know, so they just thought it was so weird anyway. I told my dad once, I said, I'm going to be a singer. He said, don't you think you ought to learn how to sing? And he wasn't joking. You know to him, [sings] Racing with the moon was singing. You know, Goin’ to tell Aunt Mary had nothing to do with singing.

Did you think your parents think it was weird to sing like Ray Charles?

Well I, I think my parents just thought I was weird, period. But ah, they, well see they, they had a band. They, my dad was a sax player, mom was a piano player and sang in the band and obviously from the swing and the big band era so the rock and roll thing was like very, very odd and, and loud and weird and not considered music to them. And, and everybody thought it was going to go away anyway. But I used to, you know I'd go in there and bang at the piano for eight hours a day and my mom was just thrilled that I was in the other room banging the piano than out on the street banging on somebody's head or something, you know. My dad, I told my dad once that I was going to be a singer. And he, he said, well, you should learn how to sing then because to him, Rudy Valle, you know, [sings] Racing with the moon, that was singing it wasn't [sings] Good golly Miss Molly you know. But, ah, but when, when we got a little successful they were thrilled to death that I had success at anything. You know they were, they were just tickled to death they didn't care if I sounded like Ray Charles or, or Frank Sinatra at that point. He's making a buck, we'll leave him alone. But they were real supportive and, and they were wonderful about it.

When you first started performing, what kind of clubs were you performing in?

Before the hits?

What kind of joints?

Well we worked a lot of joints, you know, before we became the Righteous Brothers we were the Paramours in a five piece band so we just played small clubs and we were one of the only rock and roll bands in Orange County 'cause there wasn't any. And we were like 21 years-old and, and we would draw young kids which wasn't necessarily what, clubs didn't want young, you know, kids in their club 'cause they were trying to sell a lot of booze and stuff. So they were just joints, you know. And the place that we started John's Black Derby, there would, there would be a lot of fights on the weekends and, and all that, very typical, you know, fifties, early sixties stuff. And then even when we had the hits "Lupe Lu" and "My Baby" and that stuff we would play little clubs and the same thing, you know, just real joints, bad, bad sound systems, no lights, just, just all that, all that kind of stuff until you're making enough money to bring you know the sound system that you want and lighting. But they were a lot of fun because, you know, once again it was, it was just flat rock and roll and, and, and we would have done it if, if we didn't get paid because it was, it was just a lot of fun for us, you know. I can remember the first all black club that we were, we were booked into. They thought we were black when they booked us into it, the California Club up in LA. And we showed up and they, they freaked out. They said, what do you mean you're the Righteous Brothers? You mean you're the band or who are you guys? Said, no me and this little blond kid are it. And there was a black, black band it was all black and they put us in the, they said, sit down in the back of the room and just drink and I'll call you up when it's time. Well we sat there and drank about ten beers a piece. We went on about 5 till 2 in the morning, which the club closed at 2. And we, we said, we'll sing a blues, flat out, we'll do a B.B. King blues, "Sweet Little Angel" the first thing. They'll either kill us or they'll love us. And they just, they just loved it. They reacted phenomenal and that was like the stamp of approval for us and we really felt that we were off and running at that point.

How does that…

It's just an old, I got a sweet little angel. I love the way she spread her wings. I got a sweet little angel when she wraps her wing around me, ooh, I get joy and everything.