If you’re still hungering for the touch of the Righteous Brothers, a duo that opened for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones six decades ago, Bill Medley is still on the road at age 84, singing his legendary hits.
“The audiences are what keep me going,” Medley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in his first interview with the media outlet in 35 years before his appearance at Atlanta Symphony Hall on Sunday. (Tickets are available at Ticketmaster starting at $76.35.)
“It keeps you alive. When you walk on that stage, you become 25 years old again. As long as the audience is there, I’ll be there.”
While this is dubbed a “farewell” tour, Medley said “it’ll probably take a couple of years to unwind it. We have some contracts to fulfill, so I don’t know exactly when it’s going to wind up.”
He isn’t sure if this is final Atlanta appearance. “There’s still plenty of gas in the tank,” he added, noting that the toughest part of touring now is the rigors of travel, not the work on stage.
Though the Righteous Brothers were not actual brothers, their kinship was real. The tenor of Bobby Hatfield complemented Medley’s mellifluous bass in soulful classics like “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “Unchained Melody” and “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.”
For many years, the duo toured together, and in 2003 they celebrated their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on stage. Then tragedy struck: Hatfield died later that year of a drug overdose at age 63 while on tour with Medley.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Medley didn’t feel right resurrecting the Righteous Brothers for many years with Hatfield gone.
“I had a lot of people tell me I should keep the music alive, that I should reform the Righteous Brothers,” Medley said. “I didn’t want do to that. I didn’t want to mess it up.”
While performing solo at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theatre in Branson, Missouri, a decade ago, he ran into fellow singer Bucky Heard.
“We became good friends, and I went to see him and he blew me away,” Medley said. “I knew if I was going to create the Righteous Brothers again, he’d be the guy. When we got together at the piano, it clicked immediately.”
So he returned with Heard as his tenor partner under the Righteous Brothers name. They have performed hundreds of shows since 2016.
“We just did the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (Tennessee), and, boy, it was the most electric audience I’ve been in front of in years,” Medley said.
The set list Sunday will include all the big hits plus Medley’s monster 1987 No. 1 song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” with Jennifer Warnes, which played during the climactic scene of the surprise hit film “Dirty Dancing.”
On stage, Medley’s daughter, McKenna, covers for Warnes. “It’s great to be on the road with family,” he said.
Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
In February, Medley released “Straight From the Heart,” an album featuring covers of songs by classic country artists he admires, such as George Jones, Hank Williams and Garth Brooks. It also gave him a chance to collaborate with a wide array of artists, including Michael McDonald, Keb Mo, Vince Gill and Shawn Colvin.
McDonald, who has worked with dozens of big-name artists over the years, was a revelation while they sang Buck Owens’ “Cryin’ Time,” Medley said.
“We were raised on the same music,” Medley said. “He was a fan. I was a fan of his. We had such a blast. We were a little afraid that our distinctive voices wouldn’t mesh. But it worked perfectly.”
He especially enjoyed covering Brooks’ “The Dance,” which quickly became one of his favorite songs to perform live.
“It’s one of those great songs that stays in my range,” he said. “I don’t have to shout myself out of it.”
Medley said many of his favorite artists growing up hailed from Georgia, like Little Richard, Ray Charles and Gladys Knight.
“Little Richard was the first guy to turn me on to rock ‘n’ roll when I was 15,” Medley said. “I did a duet with Gladys for a movie with Sylvester Stallone (called) ‘Cobra.’ And that Ray Charles version of ‘Georgia on My Mind’ is one of the best things he ever did.”
Medley himself has performed “Georgia” many times over the decades and will likely do it at the Atlanta Symphony Hall as well.
“It’s just one of those songs that takes care of itself,” he said. “You just have to stay in the saddle. The lyrics aren’t real deep lyrically, but it’s just a soulful song.”
EVENT PREVIEW
The Righteous Brothers
7 p.m. Sunday. $76.35-$141.40. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. ticketmaster.com
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