The term the blue-eyed soul was coined by Philadelphia radio DJ Georgie Woods in 1964 to describe The Righteous Brothers. While in the recording studio for the first time in 1963, the duo of baritone Bill Medley and late tenor Bobby Hatfield took the name bestowed upon them at John’s Black Derby nightclub by Black Marines in Santa Ana, California, who were stationed at the nearby El Toro base.
In early 1965, they topped the charts with the Phil Spector-produced “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling,” which for many years was the song most frequently heard on the radio, according to BMI. Other smashes included “Unchained Melody,” “Ebb Tide,” and “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.” In early 2003, The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but six months later, Hatfield died while on tour.
Medley, who had won a Grammy for his duet with Jennifer Warnes on the Oscar-winning Franke Previte song “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” from the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing,” continued on as a solo act. But after many requests to reform The Righteous Brothers, he did in 2016 with popular Branson, Missouri-based singer Bucky Heard.
Together now for eight years, Medley and Heard are on the Lovin’ Feeling Farewell Tour, which makes a stop on August 17 at URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center. (Tickets to the 8:00 p.m. show are available now.)
Enjoy the following interview with Bill Medley.
At 83, how are you able to sing so well and look so good? What do you do to stay in shape vocally and physically?
I pray to the throat gods [Laughs]. I don’t know! I still work with my vocals coach – not as much anymore, but that helps a lot. I warm my voice up before the show. I take it pretty seriously. My voice, I have to pay attention to it. It’s a tough voice to keep at 100%, but I’ve been lucky and blessed, and I’m thrilled about it.
I’d like to tell you I eat well and exercise a lot. I do walk. I walk every day to keep the blood moving, but food wise… I’m into fast food and junk food: tacos and hamburgers. I’m just blessed. I’m actually 83 and still doing this! Nobody’s more surprised by that than me. It keeps you young.
‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling’ and ‘Unchained Melody’ are two of the most popular songs of all time, still getting a great deal of airplay and being covered by other artists to this day. How does it make you feel now whenever you hear either song?
It’s always amazing to still hear our stuff on the radio. It’s always great to hear other artists do our stuff. People would ask me, “Doesn’t it make you mad?” because Hall & Oates did ‘Lovin’ Feeling’ and had a hit. It’s actually an honor when somebody loves your music enough to cover it. It’s a great feeling.
When, where and how did you learn to sing and what and who inspired you to do so?
When I was 15 years old, I first heard Little Richard. That’s when I got into rock ‘n’ roll. I just loved the Black artists of the fifties. I just fell in love with Little Richard and his voice, just how he sang with so much emotion. Then when I was about 18, I got real into Ray Charles. Both Bobby and I listened to rhythm & blues as kids – Ray Charles, B.B. King. I used to say that they would come to my house in the form of a record and teach me how to sing. I think I learned by the right guys.
It’s not so much like it wanted to sound like they do, but they did inspire me a lot. When I was young, I sounded a little like Ray Charles. I didn’t mean to copy him, but he was so deep into my soul, it was hard to keep him out.
Do you know when, where, and how Bobby learned to sing, and what and who inspired him?
I think the same music and same guys influenced Bobby. I think he was little more into doo-wop than I was. We were both raised on the same Black radio station, KGFJ in Los Angeles, and the DJ was Hunter Hancock. I’m surprised I still remember that!
I’ve taken voice lessons for years. Bobby was just a natural. We both sang in church and school choirs. Bobby just was one of those guys with a beautiful voice who didn’t have to work at much. He just had it.
When and how did you and Bobby meet?
We were both raised in Orange County. Bobby was in a small rock ‘n’ roll group, and I had rock ‘n’ roll group. We got to know each other because we both had bands. A mutual friend, John Wimber, was working in Las Vegas a lot. He wanted to come home to get consistent work. He got Bobby and his drummer, and me and my guitar player, and put us all together. The Paramours start singing all duets. It was so much fun singing with Bobby because he was so good. That was in 1962.
How did you and Bobby come to be known as The Righteous Brothers?
We were working at a club together as the Paramours singing nothing but R&B and Black music by great Black artists. Orange County in those days was very white, but there was a Marine base there, (Marine Corps Air Station) in El Toro. Black Marines would say, “Hey, there’s two white guys down at the club singing rhythm & blues,” and they would come see us.
If you had a great-looking car, a white guy might say, “What a cool car,” but a Black guy would say, “What a righteous-looking car.” If they looked at you as a friend, they would call you a brother. A lot of times when we were performing, they’d come in and say, “Hey, righteous brother, how you doing?’” That meant good friend. Bobby and I went into the studio to record “Little Latin Lupe Lu” and they asked what we wanted to call ourselves, and Bobby said, “We should call ourselves what the Marines call us,” and it stuck.
Do you remember the name and station of the DJ who coined the term blue-eyed soul to describe The Righteous Brothers?
I think it was a guy in Philadelphia. I don’t know his name, but it was a Black station. When we had “Lovin’ Feeling” playing, we were the only white guys they were playing. He said, “Here’s my blue-eyed soul brothers,” telling the audience that these guys are white. In the forties and fifties, Black guys used to call white guys blue-eyed. I don’t know how it took off, but it was a real honor to have a Black DJ call us his blue-eyed soul brothers.
After Bobby died in 2003, just six months after The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you took your third break from performing and recording in The Righteous Brothers. Why and how did Bucky Heard inspire you to reform The Righteous Brothers in 2016?
Bucky was working Branson, Missouri. I became friends with him. Then I saw him at a mutual friend’s wedding. Bucky was doing a tribute to the Blues Brothers, doing John Belushi. He said, “Bill come see me. I’m doing a tribute to Journey,” which freaked me out because Steve Perry was one of the greatest singers in the business. He had such a high voice. He just killed me, so I thought, “Well, if Bucky could do Steve Perry, he probably could do Bobby Hatfield.” I wasn’t looking to reform The Righteous Brothers, but my manager and fans and people in the business said I should keep the music alive, so I called Bucky. I said, “Let’s get together to see if our voices work.” They did. Now I think we’re going on 10 years.
Does Bucky remind you of Bobby or does he have his own style?
He has his own style. I told him, “I don’t need you to sound like Bobby. If the audience sees that, they may not appreciate it.” He has his own thing, but he’s a big Bobby Hatfield fan, so he came by it pretty honestly.
Besides The Righteous Brothers, what is Bucky’s greatest musical accomplishment?
A tribute to Journey that is pretty dang good! I just know that in Branson, he was the hardest-working guy in town doing 12 shows a week and then an after-hours thing with a different band. He’s a hard-working guy, a really good guy, and a great guy, a great partner. We get along great. He became like my best friend. It just worked out phenomenally.
What other solo songs will you perform with Bucky on The Lovin’ Feeling Farewell Tour?
We do all the hits that people know. There are a couple of surprises. Bucky does a great version of Roy Orbison’s “Cryin’.” Bucky is recording, so you’ll be hearing a lot of his stuff. He’s just a great singer of songs, so he does a couple of songs that show off his talent. He’ll do “Ebb Tide” and I do “Unchained Melody” as a tribute to Bobby. We have a video of Bobby and me. I do a blues song in show; that’s one of the only songs that isn’t ours. The rest of the show is Righteous Brothers hits. We want to do what I know the audience wants to hear.
We love doing those songs. The show is fun. Bucky has a sense of humor. I have a sense of humor. It really is a fun show.
What did you like most about working with New Jersey legend Franke Previte on “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” in 1980?
All those guys are extremely talented. Franke is really talented. I was just thrilled to death that they asked me to do the song for Dirty Dancing. I had to turn it down for three months because my wife was expecting – they wanted me to come from California to New York, but I couldn’t do it. Finally, my wife had our child. They said, “Jennifer Warnes wants to sing with you. She’ll do the record if she can do it with you.” I loved singing with Jennifer.
Franke, I’m sure, is thrilled that he wrote a song that won’t die. It won’t ever. If you talk to Franke, tell him, “Thank you.”
So, will The Lovin’ Feeling Farewell Tour lead to your retirement, or will you continue to perform and record as a solo act?
Bucky will be doing a lot more stuff of his own. I’m just trying to cut back. I’ll be 84 in September. I love the stage, but the traveling is really killer. It was pretty easy in my twenties and thirties, but in my eighties, it’s pretty tough. We have some contracts to fulfill, so the ‘farewell’ won’t be immediate. It’ll take a couple of years to unwind.
I don’t think I’ll go out as a solo artist, but on the other hand, I didn’t think I’ll be a Righteous Brother for another 10 years. It’s been blessing, so you never know. Never say never.
Is there anything I didn’t ask on which you would like to comment?
I’d like to tell people to come down to the show. I almost guarantee they’ll have a wonderful time hearing all those songs that they grew up with.
FOR MORE ON THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS & THIS FINAL TOUR, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE!
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at makinwaves64@yahoo.com.
