I recently spent a wonderful evening with my husband
and another couple enjoying a performance by the
Righteous Brothers. You Baby Boomers and even
you Gen Xers probably remember this duo from as
far back as the 1960s.
If not, let me jog your memory with this one iconic
hit song of theirs: “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.”
Ring any bells?
Maybe, like me, you weren’t sure the Righteous
Brothers were still performing or – for that matter –
still alive. Well, good news – one of them is alive and
well and knocking out Las Vegas audiences nightly at
Harrah’s Casino on the Strip.
Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield began performing
as a duo in 1963, adopting the name “The Righteous
Brothers.” In August and September 1964 they
opened for “The Beatles” on their first U.S. tour. But
they left before the tour ended to appear on a new
television show, “Shindig.” In October and November
that same year they opened for “The Rolling Stones”
on their American tour. And then they caught the attention
of Phil Spector, who signed them and had a
song written for them. The song was “You’ve Lost
That Lovin’ Feelin’” and the rest was history. It quickly
became one of the most successful pop singles in its
time, the most-played song on American radio and
TV of the 20th century, garnering over 8 million airplays
by the turn of the century. In 1965 they had a
second hit with “Just Once In My Life,” and a big success
with “Unchained Melody.” They followed up with
“Soul And Inspiration” In 1966, which became their
second No. 1 U.S. hit.
But the duo broke up in early 1968, when Bill Medley
decided to go out on his own. Neither he nor Bobby
Hatfield were as popular individually as they were
together, so in 1974 they reunited and had some hits
but nothing like their earlier work.
Finally in 1997 Medley recorded a duet with Jennifer
Warnes, “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life,” which
appeared on the soundtrack of “Dirty Dancing,” which
topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as winning them
a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo. In
2003 the “Righteous Brothers” were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10.
Sadly, Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel
room in Kalamazoo, Michigan on November 5,
2003. The autopsy attributed his death to heart failure
brought on by cocaine.
While that sounds like the end of “The Righteous
Brothers, in March 2016 Medley began appearing at
Harrah’s with Bucky Heard. Medley credits the Righ teous
Brothers fans, friends, producers and contacts
for getting him to decide to revive “The Righteous
Brothers” name.
And the show is truly terrific. Medley is 78 now,
but his deep voice is as good as ever and he moves
smoothly on stage. As for his audience the night we
saw him perform in Las Vegas, he had us from the
first note he sang. By the time he sang “I Had The
Time Of My Life,” I was in seventh heaven. Admittedly,
that is my favorite song of all time (and “Dirty
Dancing” is my favorite film).
But Bill Medley is now one of my favorites as well. I
can’t recommend his show too highly.
It rocked!
Photo Source: Groupon.com
