Bill Medley Lends His Blue-Eyed Soul To Some Country Classics On New Album ‘Straight From The Heart’ [Interview]
Bill Medley
After a lifetime of accolades and awards including being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as part of hitmakers the Righteous Brothers, you would think Bill Medley would be ready to wind it down a bit and just enjoy the fruits of a highly successful career. In fact, the opposite is true.
The Grammy winner behind evergreen hits like “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Unchained Melody” and “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” is still reaching for new horizons and uncharted territories musically, as evidenced by his brand new country album, Straight From The Heart, out now. On the new project, produced by Fred Mollin, Medley lends his iconic baritone to some pure country classics alongside hitmakers like Michael McDonald, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin. The album feels like a homecoming of sorts for the singer, who found the stories in the songs mirrored his own life in many ways and made the recording a labor of love for the lifelong country fan.
“Making this album was kind of the perfect storm,” he tells MusicRow. “I’m 84 now and have always wanted to do a country album. I had some guys come and ask me to do this record, kind of as a tribute to the singers and songwriters, and I told them I’d love to do it. I’ve actually been doing country some off and on… in 1968 I left the Righteous Brothers for six years and the first album I tried to do was a country album, and the record company found out I was doing it and made me stop.
“This album, oddly enough, is the story of my life,” he continues. “I mean ‘Sunday Morning Comin’ Down’—if you’ve ever been divorced and gotten the blues, and you are out walking around and see families having lunch or breakfast—it’s very moving. So I’ve lived this album, and that’s why it was so important for me to do it. I also wanted to do it for my grandson and great grandchildren, an album that showed their grandpa’s heart and how he really feels.”
Medley is no stranger to the country world, having visited Nashville with Kenny Rogers in 1978, and later touring with Rogers, Alabama and Loretta Lynn at various times throughout his career and creating lifelong relationships within the country music community. He even earned an ACM Nomination for Top New Male Vocalist of the Year in the 1980’s, so indulging in his deep-seated love for country was easy for the legendary vocalist. What wasn’t easy, however, was selecting which songs would make the cut on Straight From The Heart.
“I think it was subconscious, the fact that I kind of picked out songs that I’ve lived,” admits Medley.”Obviously it was tough, and I was obviously afraid to do a lot of those songs… I almost had to be talked into it because those are great singers. On Kenny’s ‘Sweet Music Man’—it sounds like he wrote that song about me, about an old guy who had hit records and is out trying to find his fans. And to do ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ it took a lot of nerve to do that one, you have to be pretty stupid to try and do that, and I just love the song! I mean George Jones was just one of the great singers…he’s just phenomenal. Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson—I just want to pay tribute to all those guys, so I think the best thing you can do is songs that touch you.
“Listen, I’m not a country singer—I was raised in California and my dad was a Texan,” he explains. “So when I do these songs I just do songs that feel comfortable to my voice and my heart. I’d love for this album to do well because I’d love to go out and perform all these songs.”
Each song on the highly-personal collection represents a meaningful memory or connection to Medley’s life. He kicks off the album with a collaboration with iconic vocalist Michael McDonald on “Cryin Time,” a powerful blend of soul and harmony that’s one of several collabs on the project. Medley also recruited buddy Keb’ Mo’ for “(Since You’ve) Gone)”, a version of the 1950’s hit seeping with remorse and regret. “Keb and I wrote a song together awhile back he recorded and he’s been a real dear friend for a long time. He’s a wonderful gentleman and a great singer, songwriter and guitar player, and he’s one of the first guys I wanted to call to see if he wanted to do this,” says Medley. “I think he did a phenomenal job on the track.”
Medley also joins forces with Vince Gill on the bluesy, nostalgic “These Days,” which came together after Medley originally hoped Gill would simply add some guitar work to the track. Interestingly, Medley and Gill
“I did the entire album to honor singers and songwriters that I admire, and I think Vince Gill is one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time. He writes perfectly for my voice, and I was just thrilled to have him come along on this project. It’s fun to sing with these guys that you admire. It’s like an out of body experience. I’m 84—I guess I should be used to it, but I never get tired of singing with great singers.”
That passion is evident on tracks like his duet with Shawn Colvin on the haunting Hank Williams classic “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” a tune Medley tried to pay homage to by letting the simple aching beauty of the song shine through.
“With all the songs, I tried to stay away from how they did it and just try to do my version. With the Hank, the song is such a great song. Sometimes singers try to take a great song and make it greater, and I think that’s a huge mistake. All you can do is your best—just sing the song.”
At this stage Medley has climbed just about every musical mountain in his career, and he continues to perform with Bucky Heard as The Righteous Brothers, but he hopes to share some of the songs from Straight From The Heart with fans on the road as well, should the opportunity arise.
“I’ve actually done everything that I’ve wanted to do and some of the stuff that I didn’t think I could do or should,” Medley says, laughing, “but I don’t know what else I’d still like to accomplish, other than I would really love to be able to perform this album at some point on tour. If I do another one of these albums, I would love to work with Chris Stapleton—I think his voice and my voice would be really interesting together.
“Other than that, I have a wonderful family and friends. I’m losing a lot of my great friends, just getting to that age, so I want to keep walking forward. People say ‘when are you going to retire?’ And I say, ‘I gotta get a job first.’ This isn’t a job—this is a 15-year-old boy’s dream. So as long as I can keep going onstage and audiences are still there, I want to keep doing that.”
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