Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born
September 19,
1940 in
Santa Ana,
California) is an
American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of
The Righteous Brothers singing duo.
Medley met his singing partner
Bobby Hatfield while attending
California State University, Long Beach. The pair began singing as a duo in
1962. Their first single was "Little Latin Lupe Lu"; their first hit was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", produced by
Phil Spector in
1964. Follow-up hits included "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" and "
Unchained Melody".
The duo broke up in
1968, but returned with another hit in
1974, "Rock And Roll Heaven", and they continued to appear together until Hatfield's death in November
2003. The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003 by one of their biggest fans,
Billy Joel.
Medley also had a moderately successful solo career. In 1987 his duet with
Jennifer Warnes, "
(I've Had) The Time of My Life", was included on the
Dirty Dancing motion picture soundtrack album and the single reached #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The song also won a 1988
Grammy Award for
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and an
Academy Award for
Best Original Song.
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Bill Medley bio on The Righteous Brothers website
