as their first release as The Righteous Brothers.
Other regional hits followed, Justine, Koko Joe, and
My Babe, which led to a regular spot on ABC-TV’s
national Shindig! broadcast. The show, featuring a
cast of regulars, along with guest stars every week,
catered to the teen audience, something new for TV
at that time. Shindig’ s smash success coincided with
The Righteous Brothers opening for both The Beatles
and The Rolling Stones on their first US tours.
Soon, The Righteous Brothers caught producer
Phil Spector’s attention and he signed them to record
what would become, according to BMI, the most
played song in the history of American radio – the
Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil classic, You’ve Lost That
Lovin’ Feelin’. A string of top hits followed until 1968
when Medley and Hatfield agreed to part ways to
pursue solo efforts. Medley soon scored with top ten
hits, Peace, Brother, Peace and Brown-eyed Woman.
In 1974, Bill and Bobby re-united and within a few
weeks had yet another monster hit with Rock and Roll
Heaven.
From then, until Bobby’s passing in 2003, The
Righteous Brothers never stopped performing to
packed crowds. During that period Bill also recorded
the chart-topping duet with Jennifer Warnes, The Time
of My Life, for the movie Dirty Dancing. It went on to sell
over 32 million copies worldwide. Then, shortly before
Bobby passed away, in 2003 Righteous Brothers fan
Billy Joel inducted the pair into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame with a glowing 7-minute speech.
Always active and stretching his creative talents,
Medley has also sung on the soundtracks or performed
the theme songs for 33 movies and TV shows and,