The Righteous Brothers recorded "Rock and Roll Heaven" a few weeks after they decided to reform the duo in 1974. They signed with Haven Records run by
Dennis Lambert and
Brian Potter and were given the song to record. Lambert and Potter rewrote a verse, updating the song to include
Jim Croce and
Bobby Darin who both had died within exactly three months of each other in late 1973. According to
Bill Medley, they were dubious about the song because they did not think the song had the "old Righteous Brothers feel". Nevertheless, it became a hit for them and quickly reached number three on the
Billboard Hot 100. In Canada it spent three weeks at number four.
Musicians and songs mentioned in Righteous Brothers version • "Jimi gave us rainbows" refers to
Rainbow Bridge by
Jimi Hendrix. • "Janis took a piece of our hearts" refers to the recording of "
Piece of My Heart" by
Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring
Janis Joplin. • "Otis brought us all to the dock of the bay" refers to "
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by
Otis Redding. • "Sing a song to light my fire. Remember Jim that way" refers to "
Light My Fire" by
The Doors which featured
Jim Morrison. • "Remember bad bad Leroy Brown, Hey Jimmy touched us with that song" refers to "
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by
Jim Croce. • "Bobby gave us Mack the Knife" refers to
Bobby Darin's recording of "
Mack the Knife". The lyrics involving Jim Croce and Bobby Darin replaced Climax's lyrics for
Buddy Holly ("
Peggy Sue") and
Ritchie Valens ("
Donna"), both of whom
died in a plane crash that had already been commemorated by another hit song,
Don McLean's "
American Pie”. Also, in 1981, when the Righteous Brothers appeared for a one-song reunion on
American Bandstand, they performed "Rock and Roll Heaven", and made it longer including new lyrics as tributes to
Elvis Presley,
John Lennon, and
Keith Moon. The tribute to Moon was inserted between those for Redding and Morrison; the Presley tribute was the entire second verse, replacing those for Croce and Darin; and a new third verse memorialized Lennon, whose
murder by
Mark David Chapman on 8 December 1980 was mentioned by the line "Now we've lost John Lennon in the cruelest way". It was rewritten with new lyrics again in 1991 to mourn the passing of
Elvis Presley ("
Love Me Tender"),
John Lennon ("
Give Peace a Chance"),
Roy Orbison ("
Oh, Pretty Woman"),
Jackie Wilson ("
Higher and Higher"),
Ricky Nelson ("
Lonesome Town"),
Dennis Wilson ("
Good Vibrations"),
Marvin Gaye ("
What's Going On"),
Sam Cooke ("
Wonderful World"),
Cass Elliot ("
Monday, Monday") who died a few months after the first Righteous Brothers version of the song was released, and
Stevie Ray Vaughan. The rewritten song is included in compilation albums such as
Reunion. ==In popular culture==