September 2019

Sept 2019: Vol 45, No 9

One of the most famous singing groups the world has ever known hails from the orange groves and bean felds that dominated the Orange County landscape prior to the 1960s. Of course, I am talking about The Righteous Brothers – Bobby Hatfeld and Bill Medley. The group’s career is storybook, beginning in 1962 and ending abruptly when Hatfeld died in 2003 from heart failure caused by his cocaine use. In the wake of the tragedy, Medley returned to perform solo like he did during the 1970s following the duo’s breakup in 1968. Despite their on-and off relationship throughout their early – and most successful – years, the group’s lone survivor continues to evoke fond memories of his deep bass-baritone vocals that are sometimes dubbed “blue-eyed soul.”