Bill Medley: Country Covers Delivered Straight From the Heart
The Righteous Brothers’ vocalist sat down with Paste to discuss the power of a great duet, his Grand Ole Opry debut this Saturday, modern country and pop music, an earlier country project that never came to fruition, and what performing has meant to him for over six decades.
Can mere words do justice to Bill Medley’s voice? Yes, his bellowing baritone is resonant, handsome, commanding—but these descriptors hardly tap at the way his performances on evergreen ballads like “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,” “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” and “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” reach through to one’s very core. Perhaps what makes Medley’s voice so singular is that something not entirely explicable—something physically intangible, yet deeply felt—pours into every syllable. That mysterious driving force can’t quite be translated on paper, but it might best be identified as “soul.”
Boasting over six decades of success in the music industry as one-half of the Righteous Brothers with the late Bobby Hatfield, a solo artist and duet extraordinaire, Medley’s position in popular music history has long been cemented. Yet, at age 84, he hasn’t had his fill quite yet. Today, in the midst of his Righteous Brothers Lovin’ Feeling Farewell Tour (performing alongside Bucky Heard), he has shared his first solo album in over a decade, Straight From the Heart, and it’s much more than a footnote to his already-staggering discography. Here, the patron saint of blue-eyed soul tries on 12 country classics for size, and they suit him quite nicely.
These days, it seems that just about every pop star is trying their hand at the country record, but Medley isn’t just simply riding a wave. In fact, his turn to the genre isn’t nearly as out-of-left-field as it may initially seem. Over the course of his career, Medley has worked with genre icons like Kenny Rogers, opened for acts including Loretta Lynn and Alabama, and in 1985—following the successes of singles like “I Still Do” on country charts—the Academy of Country Music nominated him for Top New Male Vocalist of the Year.
Produced by Fred Mollin on Nashville’s Music Row, Straight from the Heart is Medley’s thoroughest venture into the genre to-date, a compilation of love letters to the original recordings and the writers and voices behind the stories they tell—stories, Medley tells me, that he himself has lived out. Medley’s selected covers span an expansive breadth of the country canon, from long-time genre staples like Buck Owens’ “Crying Time” to newer classics, like Garth Brooks’s signature song, “The Dance.” Their arrangements reflect a stripped-back approach, which is apt. The walls of plucky strings, pedal steel, piano and soft percussion leave Medley plenty of space to imbue even the oldest compositions with his inimitable artistry. His croon is moving as ever on its own, but he continues to find strength in collaboration, calling upon the talents of Michael McDonald, Keb’ Mo’, Shawn Colvin and Vince Gill for poignant harmonies and dynamic lyrical exchanges across the 12 chapters.
Over the phone, Medley and I talked all things Straight from the Heart, from the power of a great duet to his feelings ahead of his Grand Ole Opry debut this Saturday. Along the way, we discussed modern country and pop music, an earlier country project that never came to fruition and what performing has meant to him for over six decades. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Paste Magazine: This is your first album in over ten years. Why release something now, and why a country record, specifically?
Bill Medley: Well, the producer, Fred Mollin, and I have been friends for a long time. He just always had this concept, and he knew that I just always loved country music and have been involved in country music over the years, and he just kind of talked me into it. I just thought I was maybe too old to be doing this. But I said, “If I can do this kind of album, I will do it.” I guess it’s considered a country album—to me, it’s Bill Medley singing country songs. And so, I just wanted to make this kind of album before I’m out of here, and they kind of had to talk me into it, but I did it, and I’m sure glad I did.
I like how you described the album as “Bill Medley singing country songs,” because you definitely bring your own thing to these songs. It reminds me of what you said in the press release, that “at its core, a pure country ballad is the blues,” because the blues are what you’re known for singing. Can you elaborate on that quote?
I consider myself a blues singer, probably more rhythm-and-blues. That’s how the Righteous Brothers started, and that’s what we loved, and that’s what we did. But I just always loved country, and the blues—I hope I’m not offending anyone, but the blues is pretty one-dimensional. As a blues singer, it’s just so cool to be able to sing these sad or joyful country songs that really tell a story. I’m just drawn to that, and I don’t have to change what I do [as a vocalist]. I still do what I do, and I just think they’re the best songs for my voice that I could ever do.
Totally. They sound really good, sung by you. What guided your song choices for the album? You cover a pretty wide range of decades and artists.
To me, the album was kind of based around the great songwriters and the artists. Fred Mollin made a list of songs, and I made a list of songs, and we kind of argued back and forth, and figured it out and came up with these songs. At this age, I have really lived the album. A lot of the songs that are on there, I personally feel like I wrote them, you know? There’s a song in there that Kenny Rogers wrote, “Sweet Music Man,” and I swear that he wrote it about me. Before his celebrity, he had a lot of the same problems that I did.
It’s just one of those albums that I totally relate to, and I hope that people will be able to relate to it. This really is kind of the story of my life. I didn’t know that until I was listening to it later; I said, “Man, I’ve lived that.”
Speaking of Kenny Rogers, I know you’ve worked with him before, as well as some other legendary country artists. What have you learned from them, or what did you take from them as you were recording these songs?
Well, I think a song is a song is a song. If you don’t have the song, you don’t have anything. So, I really learned simplicity from a lot of the guys and listening to country. And I loved the simplicity, and I loved how they did it and what the songs were about. I learned a lot working with Kenny, and Glen Campbell, and all the people I’ve worked with. If you don’t keep learning, you’re probably in trouble. I certainly learn every time I do a CD or something. When I go see somebody perform, I learn something. But simplistic, simplistic, simplistic—I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned.
You host a handful of great duet partners on here—Michael McDonald, Keb’ Mo’, Shawn Colvin, Vince Gill. How did those collaborations come about, and how did it feel to work with these artists?
Well, I had recorded a Vince Gill song which I just loved called “These Days,” which is on the album. We sent it to him to see if he would just do some guitar stuff, and by the time he sent it back, it was a full-on duet. He sang it and harmonized. It’s interesting, because Vince and I, I think in ’95 for the American Music Awards, we were nominated for the Newcomers of the Year award together; that’s when I first met Vince. And obviously, Vince won that award, and I just loved him. I just think he’s one of the great talents, just a great talent.
Michael McDonald, we’ve been friends for years, and we kind of came up musically in the same neighborhood. Keb’ has also been a friend of mine for years; we’ve written together. And Shawn, I knew her. It’s like Beauty and the Beast—she has that sweet, soft voice, and I have this big, husky voice. I thought it would be a good marriage. I thought all of them were perfect marriages.
I agree. You’re famous for your duets, so I was wondering if you think performing a song as a duet can elevate it?
I think the sound of two different voices is more interesting. I think it just brings more texture to the song, the record. I did a song for Dirty Dancing, “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life,” with Jennifer Warnes, and it was so much fun singing with her, because, once again, it’s like Beauty and the Beast.
That’s an amazing song. So good.
Yeah, it’s pretty good [laughs].
The last track on the album is a rendition of the Everly Brothers’ “Let It Be Me,” which I know you and Bobby had recorded together before as the Righteous Brothers. I felt that was an especially poignant song on the album; it might be my favorite, actually. What was recording it like this time?
It was a lot of different feelings. I remember when Bobby and I did it, and I was a huge, huge Everly Brothers fan. I actually got to sing it with Phil Everly before he passed away, and I was the opening act for the Everly Brothers for about two or three weeks in Atlantic City. I just loved them. And I just think that’s one of the prettiest songs in the world. The Righteous Brothers, we did it pretty poppy, and arranged and all that. And I just told Fred, “I want to do this song as simple and as pretty as I can,” because the song deserves it. It’s just a great song.
I was wondering if you’ve been keeping up with modern country music? I feel like it’s having a big moment right now; there’s been a lot of exciting genre-mixing. And Ringo Starr, who I know you know, recently put out his own country album. What did you think about it?
Ringo doing a country album, I think, is a good idea. He’s got a great band. I think it was great. You know, a lot of pop acts are kind of looking over at country because pop music has become so different, and country music still is talking about the heart and soul. I mean, there’s some great pop singers, and I love Bruno Mars and people like that. But, you know, you hear Chris Stapleton, you hear him sing a song, and you just feel like he lived it. I just think that that’s important, and I think that’s why some of the older pop acts are going into, or flirting with, the country field. I’ve been doing country ever since ’68. When Bobby and I separated for about six years, the first album I wanted to do was country songs.
Can you tell me more about that album?
Oh, it was so long ago. One of the songs, “Since You’ve Gone,” by Ferlin Husky, I did on this album. But I don’t remember a lot about it because I only got about three songs in. MGM heard that I was doing country songs, and they wanted me to hold off for a while.
I bet it feels good to be at a point where you can do whatever you want, now.
I must tell you, it’s a great point. I’m 84, and I’ve been there and done it, but I’m still out performing. I just love performing. I love music, and doing this album was such a left-hand turn that was so inspiring for me, because I’ve been singing “Loving Feeling,” “Unchained Melody,” “Soul Inspiration,” all those songs for over 50 years. And I love those songs, but to kind of make a left-hand turn—boy, it’s like taking your clothes off onstage. I mean, country music is really revealing, I think. And at this age, that’s what I wanted to do.
There’s definitely a real vulnerability to these songs, the sparseness of them, and I think it works. Kind of going off of that, how are you feeling ahead of your Grand Ole Opry debut?
Well, I’ve been singing for over 60 years, and, between you and me, I’m a little nervous about it. Not a little nervous—I’m real nervous about it. Because even though I’ve done a million country things and country shows, it just seems like going to church. I’m just very excited about it, and I’m always thrilled that I’m welcomed into the club. I always love that. So, I’m excited and nervous.
I like the album title, Straight From the Heart. What inspired that?
When Fred Mollin and I were talking, I said, “I want these songs to come straight from the heart.” And he always remembered that. I said, “I don’t want to be overthinking them, I want to feel them. I want them to make me happy, I want them to make me sad.” I mean, the album really is my life. I’ve been around long enough to go through every one of those emotions. Straight From the Heart is right, wrong or indifferent, you know? If you like the album or not, it’s really straight from the heart.
What do you hope listeners get out of the album—maybe see a new side of yourself?
Boy, that’s a good question, and a hard question. I’m still out doing Righteous Brothers shows, and I’m really enjoying that. I have a great partner, and we’re working a lot. And then this album is getting a lot of attention, and, I don’t know, I’m just gonna have to see how I feel when it happens, or if it happens. It’s a million-to-one shot, but if something happens, I will—it’s one of those things, that you’ve gotta give it to God. Whatever he wants me to do, I’ll do, and I certainly would love to do these songs and even more like them.
I was going to ask if you were considering recording another country album, going off of the inspiration from this one.
If I get enough traction and this-and-that, I would love to do it. I mean, there’s no better place than being in the studio, especially in Nashville with these great, great players. They so understand these songs. And, as I said, this album is really a tribute to the writers and the singers, and I could probably do 50 more albums paying tribute to these wonderful people.
I read that when you showed your grandson the album, you told him, “This is who your grandpa really is,” which I found very moving. I’d love to hear you elaborate on that.
Well, I really can’t elaborate on it. I mean, when we started this album out, we were going to make kind of a low-price, little album that maybe could, you know, hit. But then, when Fred heard I wanted to do this album, he jumped in, and then it became a full-blown album. This album, I’m doing it because I love these songs, but I want my grandson to be able to listen to this and really know who is grandpa is, and what he loves. And I have other grandchildren, but I have a feeling this guy is going to land up in music. And I have great-grandchildren, so I just really want them to know, “Yeah, your grandpa did pretty well,” but this is really how your grandpa sounds.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Just that I’m real proud of the album, and I think it’s probably the best of Bill Medley, because it’s real simplistic, done with great musicians, a great producer and great writers. I mean, you can’t beat that. So I would say, I hope people give it a listen at least, and if they like it, great. If they don’t, great.
Anna Pichler is one of Paste’s music interns. When she’s not writing about music, she’s working towards an undergraduate degree in English Literature from The Ohio State University. You can find her on X @_Anna_pichler_ and Bluesky @annapichler.bsky.social, where she mainly shares her work and reposts her favorite Bob Dylan memes.
