Bill Medley (born William Thomas Medley on September 19, 1940 in Sta. Ana, California) is an American singer and songwriter who is also known also as one of the Righteous Brothers .” After gaining several hits with the duo, Medley had finally gained his own hit single (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” in 1988. Performed with singer Jennifer Warnes, the song charted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and me earned him and Warnes two categories at the 1988 Grammy Awards.
Meet Bill Medley
American singer and songwriter Bill Medley was born William Thomas Medley was born on September 19, 1940 in Sta. Ana, California. In his youth, Medley began singing in a Presbyterian church choir. Brought up by his parents who were once swing band members, no doubt that he would be entering the music business. He initially formed a singing duo The Romancers wherein he and his friend Don Fiduccia both played guitars. In 1969, they formed a group called the Paramours who had issued several singles on Mercury Records.
Medley is also known as a part of the vocal duo The Righteous Brothers which was formed in the early 1960s. Through his former groupmate, he met Bobby Hatfield who would later become his singing partner. In 1964, the two was noticed by the legendary producer Phil Spector and eventually got signed to his own label Philles Records. The Spector-produced song “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” became the The Righteous Brothers’s first breakthrough hit, topping both the US and UK charts in 1964. In the following year, another hit came up with their version of the Todd Duncan’s original “Unchained Melody” that peaked at #4 on the US chart. Upon leaving Spector in 1966, they switched to Verve Records and had of US hits such as “Soul and Inspiration” (#1, 1966) and “Rock and Roll Heaven” (#3, 1974).
Medley’s solo recording career
Pursuing a solo career in 1968, Medley performed Carole King for the song “I Can Make It Alone” which was quite unnoticed. Further solo recordings were issued for the much of the 1970’s and 1980’s, however he had a success with his duet with Jennifer Warnes on “(“I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” in 1987. The song held the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Medley and Warnes Grammy awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Original Song categories in 1988. “(‘ve Had) The Time of My Life” was featured on the OST of the movie Dirty Dancing (1987).
Between 1990’s to 2000’s, Medley continues to perform as a solo artist and cut several memorable songs like “Most All of You” (Major Leagues’s closing theme), “Friday NIght’s A Great Night for Football” (for the film The Last Boy Scout) among others. In 2013, a concert was held at the Wembley Arena where he performed for the first time in the UK. A year after, Medley’s memoir The Time of My Life: A Righteous Brother’s Memoir was published on April 2014.