Medley to bring "that lovin' feelin'"' to Temecula; Grammy Award-winner to perform favorites, tell stories of his experiences

In keeping with the theme of his Grammy Award-winning song, “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life,” Bill Medley plans on not only performing the top hits of his career, but also sharing many colorful, personal stories when he performs “An Intimate Evening with Bill Medley” on Sunday, June 22, at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. It will be Medley’s first performance in the city.

“It will be fun and a little bit of everything,” said Medley in a telephone interview June 5. “After 50-some years in the business, a lot of funny stuff has happened... some serious stuff... and I made friends with a lot of people in the business.”

Medley, who performed as one half of The Righteous Brothers with partner Bobby Hatfield (who passed away in 2003), said concert-goers can count on hearing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,’’ “Unchained Melody,” “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life (from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, which he will sing in duet with his 27-year-old daughter, McKenna Medley), “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” and more.

The “intimate evening” Medley has planned is a new format he designed based on fan feedback.

“I started doing some storytelling in my show and when I would go out and sign autographs afterward, people would say they loved the songs, but really loved the stories,” he explained. “They were interested to find out the why, when, and where, and hear about my relationships since I was on the first Beatles and Rolling Stone tours; worked with (record producer) Phil Spector, and became good friends with Elvis. So, I plan on bringing a couple of my musicians with me and do all the popular hits as well as explain how I got into business and why I started writing.”

Medley said he would reflect on the best of times and well as the challenging ones. “The ‘high of highs,’ like going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... all the great stories... but also some of the real down moments in my life, like in the 70s when my wife, the mother of my son, was murdered. He was 10 and I became a single parent. Also in the 70s, I lost my voice and was told I would never sing again.”

He will also share the inside story on The Righteous Brothers – how they got together and got along. “I will talk about our chemistry,” Medley said, adding that he will take questions at the end of the performance.

Two months ago, he released a book, “The Time of My Life: A Righteous Brother’s Memoir” (Da Capo Press), in an effort to provide more of the information that his fans have desired.

The native Californian, now 73, resides in Newport Beach but has come to love Temecula since his son, Darrin, and grandchildren moved there.

“I saw the

for the first time a couple of years ago and thought it was a cool little theater and that it would be a fun place to work,” said Medley. “When I thought about doing ‘An Intimate Evening with Bill Medley,’ the Temecula theater came to mind because it is an intimate theater. I didn’t want to do this with 1,500 to 2,000 people, I wanted 300 to 500 people, so I could really get in their face and have an intimate night.”

The special performance will begin at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 22. For ticket information, visit http://www.temeculatheater.org.