Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a number of the duo's songs, including "Unchained Melody" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration".
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley
September 19, 1940
Santa Ana, California, U.S.[1]
- Singer
- songwriter
1962–present
Medley is also a solo artist. His million-selling No. 1 duet with Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (1987), won a number of awards.
Early life[edit]
Medley was born September 19, 1940, in Santa Ana, California to Arnold and Irma Medley.[1][2] He attended Santa Ana High School, graduating in 1958.[3] Raised a Presbyterian, he sang in the church choir,[4] and his parents had a swing band.[5] He became interested in R&B music through listening to black-oriented radio stations.[4] An early influence he has cited is Little Richard, who he first heard when he was fifteen or sixteen years old, and later Ray Charles, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and B.B. King.[6][7]
Medley first formed a singing duo called The Romancers with his friend Don Fiduccia, who also played the guitar. He began to write songs and record multi-track recordings in his living room.[8][9] At 19, he had two songs, "Womaling" and "Chimes of My Heart," recorded by vocal group The Diamonds.[8] Medley and Fiduccia then formed a group called The Paramours in 1960, with Sal Fasulo and Nick Tuturro, later joined by Mike Rider and Barry Rillera.[10] The band had its first paying gig at Little Italy restaurant in Anaheim, California. The Paramours were signed to Mercury Records' subsidiary label Smash Records, releasing such songs as "That's the Way We Love" and "Miss Social Climber" in 1961.[11]
Personal life[edit]
Medley met his first wife, Karen O'Grady, in church; they started dating in 1963 and were married at the beginning of his music career. Their son, Darrin, was born in 1965 but they were divorced when Darrin was about five years old. Medley married Suzi Robertson in 1970, then Janice Gorham, but each marriage was soon annulled.[37] He was a close friend of Elvis Presley.[38][39]
In January 1976, his first wife Karen, by then remarried and named Karen Klaas, was raped and murdered by a stranger, and Medley decided to take time off from his music career to look after his son. The murder had not been solved and Medley employed a private investigator in an effort to track down the killer. On January 27, 2017, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that investigators used a new DNA testing method to solve the decades-old murder. The sheriff's department said that the case "was solved through the use of familial DNA, which identified the killer", who was named as Kenneth Troyer, a sex offender and fugitive killed by police in 1982.[40]
Medley married Paula Vasu in 1986. The couple had a daughter, McKenna.[41] McKenna is also a singer; she has performed with Medley as his duetting partner on "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".[42] Paula died of Parkinson's disease on June 8, 2020.[43]
In May 2020, Medley underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his throat.[43]
Awards and nominations[edit]
Medley was nominated for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist in the 1972 Grammy Awards for his recording of "Freedom and Fear", a track from Michel Colombier's album Wings.[28]
In 1988, Medley received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for his duet with Jennifer Warnes on "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".[44]