Bill Medley, right, of the Righteous Brothers will perform with duo partner Bucky Heard at the Count Basie Center for the Arts June 5. Medley and his friend Bobby Hatfield, who died in 2003, formed the Righteous Brothers duo in 1963. COURTESY BILL MEDLEY
By Mary Ann Bourbeau
RED BANK – At the age of 85, is Bill Medley ready to bid farewell to his 60-plus year run as a member of the Righteous Brothers? Maybe yes, maybe no. What is being billed as “The Righteous Brothers Lovin’ Feelin’ Farewell Tour” may not be a farewell after all.
“I was diagnosed with A-fib (irregular heartbeat), and I thought about slowing down,” said Medley. “But they fixed it and now I feel great! People ask when I’m going to retire and I say ‘Man, I have to get a job first!’ I really love performing. It isn’t work; it’s a 15-year-old boy’s dream. I feel bad that they advertised it as a Farewell Tour. I think I’m just going to keep performing until the wheels come off.”
The Righteous Brothers will bring all their hits and then some to the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Friday, June 5. Fans young and old can expect to hear such favorites as “Soul & Inspiration,” “Unchained Melody,” “Rock and Roll Heaven,” “Ebb Tide,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.’ ”
The Righteous Brothers’ roots go back to the mid-1950s when then 16-year-old Medley dropped out of his Santa Ana, California high school with no plan in mind.
“I didn’t know where I was headed, I just knew I could sing,” he said. “I sang in church and school choirs, and I absolutely loved it. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to write, record, perform and travel the world with my best friend, Bobby.”
Medley was heavily influenced by his musical parents who were in a group called the Rhythm Hounds, but they stopped performing when they had children. His mother became a hairdresser and when her son left school, she insisted he find a way to make a living, so he enrolled in hairdressing school.
“The best thing that ever happened to me was that I failed my state board,” he said.
Around that time, he heard the strains of Little Richard, Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, and he knew he had to take his shot at music. He formed the Righteous Brothers duo in 1963 along with his friend, Bobby Hatfield. With his booming baritone and Hatfield’s soaring tenor, they recorded everything from heart-warming ballads to energetic rock anthems. After performing a regular gig on the ABC TV show “Shindig,” they gained a huge teen audience and were chosen to open for both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on their first U.S. tours.
The Righteous Brothers soon caught producer Phil Spector’s attention. He signed them to record the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil classic, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.’ ” With backing vocals by the Blossoms, the Ronettes and a very young Cher, the song shot to the top of the Billboard charts. It never fell out of popularity and, decades later, it was named the most played song of the 20th century by Broadcast Music, Inc.
The success of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ ” earned the Righteous Brothers an invitation to be the opening act for Jack Benny.
“We were huge Jack Benny fans,” said Medley. “We got to open for him and do a 20-minute monologue with him on stage. He was flat out brilliant!”
Medley and Hatfield had a string of hits and later saw their songs gain popularity with a new generation in the 1980s as the songs appeared in movie soundtracks such as “Ghost,” “Dirty Dancing” and “Top Gun.” The duo was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, shortly before Hatfield’s death. After that, Medley performed solo shows but said he would never re-form the Righteous Brothers.
“Bobby’s death was horrible on so many different levels,” said Medley. “We were together from 1962 to 2003. We went through so many good, bad and ugly things that make for such an interesting bond. When Bobby died, a part of me knew I’d feel that hole in my heart forever.”
Friends and fans urged him to keep the Righteous Brothers alive. In 2016, when he attended a concert by Alabama native Bucky Heard, he thought for the first time that this person could be the one.
“Bucky and I both worked in Branson (Missouri), and we became friends,” said Medley. “I really liked him. He’s a great guy and a great singer. He was doing a tribute to Journey, and I went to the show just to watch him die. But he just absolutely blew my mind! Taking on a new partner is like ordering a mail-order bride – you just don’t know what you’re getting. But Bucky checked every box in my heart and in my head. When we first sat down at the piano to see if it sounded and felt right, it was magical, just like when Bobby and I first sang together.”
By anchoring some of the biggest recordings of all time, Medley has been the recipient of a Grammy, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and an American Music Award. In 2014, he released his memoir, “The Time of My Life.” He insists he is still having the time of his life on this open-ended farewell tour.
“Why would I stop if this is what I love to do and people of a certain age still love to hear it?” he said. “The traveling is pretty tough but as long as the people are there and the music is important to them, I’ll just keep on keeping on.”
The Righteous Brothers will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. Tickets are $51 to $120 and are available at thebasie.org.
The article originally appeared in the May 28 – June 12, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
