Rock ‘n’ roll Medley rocks The Orleans

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 8:22 a.m.

The evening at The Orleans could have been a maudlin, overly sentimental tearjerker, but Medley said his "little brother" Bobby wouldn't have stood for that.

Instead, Medley performs a show that is full of life, joy and a sprinkling of fond remembrances of his and Hatfield's career as the Righteous Brothers.

"We obviously miss Bobby," Medley told the 700 or so fans at The Orleans Showroom at the onset of a recent performance. "I think about him probably 100 times a day. But we are here to celebrate the fact that Bobby was here and also the music that Bobby and I created.

"It is a celebration. We want you to have a good time. That's the way he would want it."

If Medley were a lesser entertainer the one-man performance might suffer from the absence of Hatfield, who sang tenor to Medley's raspy, often soulful baritone.

Certainly Hatfield's wit and his voice are missed, but Medley (who also has a good sense of humor) has had a successful career apart from his role as a Righteous Brother, and he is able to shoulder the burden of a single act with ease.

In a sense, Hatfield is onstage through much of the evening via slides, videos, references by Medley and the songs that made the duo one of the most popular acts in entertainment history.

There were rumors that Medley, through the wonders of modern technology, was going to be singing duets with Hatfield. That didn't happen, although Medley couldn't resist inserting Hatfield's voice into the harmony portion of "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration."

In 1965 one of the Brothers' biggest hits was "Unchained Melody," which was used in the film "Ghost" (1990).

Medley sings his own version of the song as a tribute to Hatfield, during which photos of Hatfield are flashed on a large screen at the back of the stage.

The show opens with a film montage of the two, tracking their career from the '60s through the '90s. At the end of the opening segment Medley strolls onstage. During the recent performance half the audience stood and applauded.

Medley thanked the fans then sang "Let the Good Times Roll" and quickly followed that up with "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration."

The entire evening was saturated with memorable songs -- not just those by the Righteous Brothers, but by other artists Medley admires, including Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.

"How many people here were raised on good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll?" Medley asked as the evening began. Judging by the applause, that included almost everyone in the audience. "Well, you're in the right place tonight."

He sang "Little Latin Lupe Lu," the 1962 song he wrote that launched the Righteous Brothers' career.

Several of the songs were accompanied by bits of trivia.

"This is a true story," Medley said. "Lupe was my girlfriend for about three months. When we broke up she sent her big brothers over to my house and they said if I quit dating Lupe they were going to beat me up real bad.

"That was 45 years ago. I'm still dating Lupe every once in a while."

From "Lupe" he moved on to "He" and then to "Rock 'n' Roll Heaven."

As Medley sang "Heaven" a series of still photos of deceased rock 'n' roll stars appeared on the screen, among them Rick Nelson, John Lennon and Buddy Holly. Hatfield's picture was the last one.

Without dwelling on the moment, Medley and three members of his band sang "Book of Love."

"Bobby was one of the greatest doo-wop singers of all time," Medley noted.

The diverse musical evening included instrumentals by saxophonist Lee Ferrell (father of comic actor Will Ferrell) and a duet with Medley's 17-year-old daughter, McKenna, who will be performing Aug. 1 at the Suncoast.

The father and daughter sang "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," from the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing." Medley sang with Jennifer Warnes on the original soundtrack.

His next-to-last song, before an encore number, was "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," the 1965 recording by the Righteous Brothers that Medley said has become the most-played record on the radio of all time.

Before ending the show with Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher," Medley addressed his fans one final time.

"I really think my little brother Bobby knew he was going home or something," Medley said. "Last year he came to me and said we really ought to record a live album. We hadn't recorded in years. So we did, live, here at The Orleans.

"We also made a book, a program, with the history of the Righteous Brothers. We hadn't had a book since 1963, when we opened for the Beatles."

Medley said 2003 was a roller coaster year, filled with highs and some obvious lows.

"But the greatest thing that happened to us last year," he said, "we were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Thank God, Bobby was here for that."