INTERVIEW: Bill Medley on the song that gave him his career
Photo: The Righteous Brothers in 2022 features, from left, Bucky Heard and Bill Medley. Photo courtesy of the artists / Provided by The Brokaw Company with permission.
When Bill Medley takes the stage Saturday, Feb. 19 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, he’ll be bringing with him decades upon decades in the music business and hit songs upon hit songs that have captured the hearts of listeners for generations. Medley is bringing the Righteous Brothers, featuring Bucky Heard, and their extensive songbook for the Jersey concert. That means audiences can expect “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” Soul and Inspiration,” “Unchained Melody” and “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
Medley, who has largely been unable to perform in front of crowds due to the pandemic, is happy to get back in front of an audience. He lives for the stage and could not stand being away from his fans.
“That was the worst thing about the pandemic,” Medley said in a recent phone interview. “Boy, all of 2020, damn near had to stay in the house. … It looks like things are opening up. I’m just thrilled to death. Last month, we did a tour in Florida, and it was just so much fun and so great. And we’re really anxious to get out there.”
Medley had no hesitation when asked about the possible setlist for the evening: He plans to sing all the hits with Heard. He still has a lot of fun crooning the favorites, but he did promise a couple surprises thrown in for good measure.
“It’s a joy,” he said about singing his well-known tunes. “It’s a hard thing to explain. When I go on stage, I feel like I’m 25 years old, and more times than not, the people in the audience feel the same because they’re reliving memories. So the minute you start, ‘You never close your eyes…’ the people start hugging and holding hands, so the love that they give back to you just makes it feel like it’s the first time you’ve ever sang that song.”
Medley started the Righteous Brothers many decades ago with Bobby Hatfield, who died in 2003. Today, Medley continues on with the songbook with Heard by his side. Although there is no replacing Hatfield, Medley believes Heard is a solid partner to have on stage.
“It’s great fun,” he said about performing with Heard. “He’s a real good friend, probably one of my best friends, and a great, great singer. He wants to do whatever he can to make the show great. … He’s just really good. It’s very hard to replace Bobby Hatfield. I don’t think you can replace Bobby Hatfield, but Bucky does just such an incredible job. I’ve always told him, ‘I don’t need you to sound like Bobby. I need you to sing like Bobby.’ Because he was a big Bobby Hatfield fan, so it all comes pretty natural to him.”
Medley first got his start as a singer in church and school choirs. He loved to sing at a young age, but he wasn’t so enamored of the hobby that he wanted to make a profession out of it. Then, at age 15, he heard Little Richard, and his life took a different direction.
“And then a couple years later, I got into Ray Charles and B.B. King and Bobby Bland and all the blues singers,” Medley said. “My mom and dad had a band, so there was always some music in the house, even though they didn’t have the band when they started having us children. But we [were] influenced, and both sides of my family were heavily into music. I asked my mom one time why I was so obsessed with music, and she says, ‘Well, because everybody on both sides of your family are in music.’ It came pretty natural.”
Medley knows that the Righteous Brothers has several claims to fame, but no song is more popular than “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’,” believed to be the most played song in radio history. For Medley, his experience with that one tune has been transcendent.
“It’s an out-of-body experience,” he said. “When Bobby and I were back there in the early ‘60s before ‘Lovin’ Feelin’,’ we would talk about what we were going to have to do when the fad was over because rock ‘n’ roll back then was considered a fad. And I just can’t believe that I’m 81, and I’m singing songs that I recorded when I was 23, 24 and 25. It’s a blessing.”
Then, Medley had a second mega-hit in the 1980s with “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” alongside Jennifer Warnes. The song was famously part of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and won Medley a Grammy Award (the tune also took home the Oscar).
“Who knew the movie was going to be one of the biggest movies in the world,” Medley said. “It’s remarkable because there was a couple years before that that I was thinking about maybe retiring and getting into the production of music and this and that. Go figure. It’s such a great business because you never know what’s around the corner.”
He added: “Bobby and I were singing rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues. Phil Spector wanted to produce us and asked Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to write us a song, and they wrote ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.’ And I’ve told Barry Mann and Cynthia several times that you didn’t write a hit record, you wrote us a life. They wrote us a career. You just never know what’s around the corner. You have to take it as it comes, and know that it’s a blessing, and keep on keeping on.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Righteous Brothers, featuring Bill Medley and Bucky Heard, will play Saturday, Feb. 19 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
