Bill Medley

By: Cara Slone, Jill
Hughes, Keno Kenoly,
and Brooke Stuart
The Beginning






Bill’s objective in life has
always been music
His father led a band and
played sax while his mother
played the piano and sang
He grew up singing in
Presbyterian choirs, entering in
amateur contests, and singing
in high school glee clubs
Had no formal musical
education, but didn’t stop him
from writing music
1st exposure was the
Paramours
“Unchained Melody” Righteous
Brothers 1980
What happened to Bill
Medley’s Wife???
She was mysteriously
murdered. It is still an
unsolved murder!
Musical Influences
Roy Hamilton
 Tony Bennett
 Ray Charles
 Bobby Bland

Musical Career
In 1961 Bill had his own group called “The Paramours”
 Bill was introduced to Bobby Hatfield that same year, who also had his own
group.
 After the two of them sang together they decided to combine the two
groups for what would become the Righteous Brothers
 Bill was the first songwriter for the Righteous Brothers, and he also became
their record producer

Musical Career
In 1968, the duo separated and Bill
pursued a solo career scoring hits such as
Brown Eyed Woman
 Although Bill and Bobby reunited in the
mid 70’s, they took a five year break from
performing
 However, they still did very well scoring
several hit songs in the 80’s and 90’s

Musical Awards



2003 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees( The Righteous Brothers.)
Grammy Winning duet with Jennifer Warnes, “ I’ve Had Time of My
Life,” Song of the year from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack
Oscar Award winner, “I’ve Had Time of My Life,” Best song in a
movie, helping Dirty Dancing become most successful soundtrack
since Saturday Night Fever, with over 11 million Copies.
Top of the Charts



Medley reached the Billboard Top 10, Five times in 15 months
“You’re My Soul and Inspiration and “ I’ve Had Time of My Life,”
each hit #1
Three different times Medley reach Top 15 in both Pop and R&B at
the same time with: “Unchained Melody” at #4 in pop and #3 in
R&B, “You’re My Soul and Inspiration” at #1 in pop and #13 in R&B,
and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” reaching #1 in pop and #3 in
R&B
Medley In the Publics Eye



The Performing Rights Organization BMI has, “You’ve Lost That
Loving Feeling”, featured on the Top Gun soundtrack, with over 8
million recording, making it the most played song in American Radio
History
AFI’s 100 Years 100 Songs, has “I’ve Had Time of My Life” as the
86th best song from a motion picture
“Unchained Melody, according to an AOL poll, was voted the
Greatest Love song of all time.
Impact of Music and Culture




The Righteous Brothers were one of the first to gain play on both
Pop and R&B radio stations
Elvis himself frequently covered “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”
and “Unchained Melody”, during his performances in the 70’s
Elton John, Sting, Billy Joel, and Steven Tyler have each expressed
their love and influence for and from Medley and Hatfield’s music
The Righteous Brothers were perhaps the first to have their own
style of music, which was “Blue Eyed Soul.”
Questions
1.What happened to Bill Medleys wife ?
A.They are still together.
B. She left him for another man.
C. She was mysteiously murdered.
2.Bill Medley was a part of what group?
A.Diamond Rio.
B.Righteous Brothers.
C.Hatfields.
3.Our main reson for choosing Bill Medley is...
A." Unchained Melody" from Ghost.
B." Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing.
C." He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" from Rambo3
Resources

www.righteousbrothers.com/bill.htm
www.vh1.com/artists/az/medley-bill/bio.jhtml
 http://www.righteousbrothers.com/bio.htm
 http://www.theiceberg.com/artist/4057/bill_medl
ey.html
 www.righteousbrothers.com/interview.htm
