Unchain My Heart

Chords and lyrics: Unchain My Heart

“Unchain My Heart” is a song written by Bobby Sharp and recorded first in 1961 by Ray Charles and in 1963 by Trini Lopez and later by many others. Sharp sold the song to Teddy Powell for $50. Powell demanded half the songwriting credit. Sharp later successfully fought for the rights to his song. In 1987, he was also able to renew the copyright for his publishing company, B. Sharp Music.

The song was a hit for Charles when released as a single in late 1961. Accompanied by his backup singers the Raelettes, Charles sang about wanting to be free from a woman who won’t let him go, with his band’s longtime saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman soloing on the instrumental interlude. The song reached number nine on the pop singles chart, number one on the R&B singles chart and was the working title of Charles’ 2004 biopic Ray.

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu