Famous Faces of Orange County: The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, the two pop singers more formerly known as the Righteous Brothers are yet another product of Orange County. These two made their fame with the singles "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" and continued on to do the soundtrack for the movie Dirty Dancing, earning themselves an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture, along with a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo.

Bobby Hatfield was born in Wisconsin in 1940 when his parents moved to Anaheim when he was just four years old. According to their official website, Hatfield started organized singing and instrumentation in high school and continued through college at Fullerton Jr. College and Long Beach State. Bill Medley was also born in 1940 in Los Angeles, but his family moved to Santa Ana where he grew up. Medley sang in the church choir and was a part of the glee club in his high school. The two first met up in 1962 to play a prom gig with a John Wimber orchestrated band called The Paramours,  where they divided up the $40 wage 5 ways and that's how Righteous Brothers were born.

Their first major hit "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'" was released in 1964 and produced by Phil Spector using his Wall of Sound production technique which uses different layers of sound and vocals to multiply the decibels and create a more full sound. The song became a number one hit on America's billboard top 100 and stayed at that position for 16 weeks. Their popularity began to decline in the late 1960's and other than a few more top 40 hits, the two decided to go their separate ways. In 1987, Bill Medley collaborated on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack which became one of the most famous soundtracks of all time.

The two were inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 for their achievements in pop during the 1960's and it is said they had one of the biggest influences on contemporary pop of today. Medley currently lives in Newport Beach and travels frequently to Missouri where he performs in Branson. Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan just hours before he was supposed to perform with Medley at Western Michigan University.