Bill Medley: still Righteous

Bill Medley When the Righteous Brothers' Bobby Hatfield passed away in 2003, many thought his longtime singing partner, Bill Medley, would retire from the stage. Five years later, Medley soldiers on, with Hatfield's memory playing a major role in his current act.

Performing at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza before an audience chiefly made up of baby boomers, Medley presented an entertaining program that wisely emphasized the tried-and-true hits from the Righteous Brothers' salad days in the mid-'60s.

Although their act has long been defined by the term "blueeyed soul," the groups' most familiar hits were not soul at all but densely orchestrated power ballads, the most famous of which, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," was produced by noted Wall-of-Sound maven Phil Spector.

After a much publicized split with Spector, Medley became a top-notch studio man himself, producing the duo's second biggest hit, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." It is his all-around professionalism that's kept Medley in front of the footlights as a solo performer years after Hatfield's passing. Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hasn't hurt his status either.

Medley hasn't done it alone, however. Backed by an excellent five-piece band that helps out with the harmony vocals, Medley is also joined by his talented 21-year-old daughter McKenna, who now teams up with her father on "I've Had the Time of My Life," the famous duet from "Dirty Dancing."

Medley is one of the last survivors of a unique breed: powerful singers from the 1960s who straddled the line between pop and rock. (This shrinking fraternity of stillactive performers also includes Tom Jones and Neil Diamond.) Medley's voice is one of the most singular in pop history—a gravelly baritone that usually was the lead voice on the Righteous Brothers' records.

A notable exception was their 1965 remake of Roy Hamilton's "Unchained Melody," which featured Bobby Hatfield's soaring tenor. Refusing to retire the song from his repertoire, Medley performs it himself now, with images of Hatfield projected on a screen.

At 68, Medley still has the stage presence that's made him a staple in Branson, Mo. His voice, although somewhat raspier, remains remarkably unchanged after 40 years. On Saturday, he strained to hit high notes and stopped frequently for sips of water.

Sorely missed from the Righteous Brothers' stage act, besides Hatfield's tenor voice, is the goodnatured banter between the singing partners. Medley's chitchat between songs consists mainly of Vegasy byplay with the audience ("Hey, where ya from?") and one too many jokes about Wal-Mart.

A highlight came when Medley introduced Bobby Hatfield's daughter Vallyn, who came up on stage only to be surprised by a proposal from her boyfriend. (She accepted.)

Medley's backup band features the versatile Warren Ham, who's also toured with Bread, Cher and Donna Summer.

The Righteous Brothers were tagged with the "blue-eyed soul" moniker while covering R&B hits for the Moonglow label in the early 1960s. In Saturday's concert, Medley, an avowed fan of Ray Charles, Chess Records' Willie Dixon and Little Richard, sang such R&B staples as "Let the Good Times Roll," "Long Tall Sally" and the Righteous Brothers' own "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and "My Babe."

After "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" became a hit, the duo hopped on the Brill Building bandwagon to record whitebread songs more accessible to mainstream audiences, with the "blue-eyed soul" label now erroneously linked to the handful of hits heard on oldies radio.

To Medley's credit, he still ardently exhibits his love for blues and R&B and has included songs in this vein on his latest CD, "Damn Near Righteous," his first collection since 1997. After more than 40 years in show business, Bill Medley philosophized about what is really important to him at this stage in his career: "Life is about friends and family. Everything else you can get at Wal-Mart."