Bill Medley is 65 today. Medley is the Righteous Brother with the deep voice. It was he who sang the opening verse in the great, great classic “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” It was the late Bobby Hatfield, the tenor , who generally took the lead on Righteous Brother songs. Cynthia Weil, who wrote “Lovin’ Feelin’,” told this story:
After Phil [Spector], Barry [co-writer Barry Mann] and I finished the song, we took it over to The Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley, who has the low voice, seemed to like the song. I remember Bobby Hatfield saying, “But what do I do while he’s singing the whole first verse???? and Phil said, “You can go directly to the bank!???
Hall of Fame ballplayers Duke Snider and Joe Morgan were born on this date — Snider is 79, Morgan 62. When I think of Morgan I think of an interview during a World Series in the early 1970s. Howard Cossell asked Morgan, “What does it feel like to know you are the best person in the world at what you do?”
Roger Angell, the wonderful writer known foremost for his essays on baseball in The New Yorker, is 85 today.
Actor Adam West, TV’s Batman, is 75. David McCallum, TV’s Illya Kuryakin, is 72.
And the Mary Tyler Show debuted on this date 35 years ago.