“Unchained Melody” first appeared in 1955 in the film Unchained, starring former football player Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. The film takes place inside a prison, and the song was written specifically to capture the mood of prisoners as they wait for time to pass. The music was written by Alex North, the lyrics by Hy Zaret, and in the film itself the song was heard in the voice of Todd Duncan, a Black singer who later became a very popular vocal instructor. The title “Unchained Melody” is unusual because the word “unchained” never appears in the lyrics at all. It simply refers back to the title of the film Unchained.