ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Blue-eyed soul pioneers The Righteous Brothers are back! With a string of #1 classics, including the most played song in radio history, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield topped the charts in four decades. After Bobby’s death in 2003, Bill Medley continued to perform to sold-out crowds around the world, but fans and friends pleaded with him to keep The Righteous Brothers alive. Says Medley … No one could ever take Bobby’s place, but when I caught Bucky Heard’s show it all came together—I found the right guy to help me recreate the magic. The concert experience features their biggest hits—Lovin’ Feelin’, Soul & Inspiration, Unchained Melody, Rock and Roll Heaven, Medley’s GRAMMY®-winning Dirty Dancing theme The Time of My Life, and much, much more!
The Bill Medley/Bucky Heard pairing came as something of a happy accident. Medley says it just seemed right … I’d been friends with Bucky for years, but when I caught his show he just killed me! The next day it hit me—that’s the guy, someone I could sing hard with, laugh hard with, love and respect—on and off stage. He fits The Righteous Brothers live performance show perfectly. And, we’ve even recorded some new material together, I’m really excited!
Medley is truly one of the iconic figures in American music history. His instantly recognizable baritone voice has anchored some of the biggest recordings of all time. He’s won a GRAMMY®, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and an American Music Award.
The Orange County, CA native began writing songs as a boy and had his breakout as a songwriter and singer when, in 1963, the Medley-penned Little Latin Lupe Lu became a regional hit for Bill and Bobby Hatfield, as their first release as The Righteous Brothers. Other regional hits followed, Justine, Koko Joe, and My Babe, which led to a regular spot on ABC-TV’s national Shindig! broadcast. The show, featuring a cast of regulars, along with guest stars every week, catered to the teen audience, something new for TV at that time. Shindig’s smash success coincided with The Righteous Brothers opening for both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on their first U.S. tours.
Soon, The Righteous Brothers caught producer Phil Spector’s attention and he signed them to record what would become, according to BMI, the most played song in the history of American radio—the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil classic, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. A string of top hits followed until 1968 when Medley and Hatfield agreed to part ways to pursue solo efforts. Medley soon scored with top ten hits, Peace, Brother, Peace and Brown-eyed Woman. In 1974, Medley and Hatfield re-united and within a few weeks had yet another monster hit with Rock and Roll Heaven.
From then, until Hatfield’s passing in 2003, The Righteous Brothers never stopped performing to packed crowds. During that period, Medley also recorded the chart-topping duet with Jennifer Warnes, The Time of My Life, for the movie Dirty Dancing. It went on to sell over 32 million copies worldwide. Then, shortly before Hatfield passed away in 2003 Righteous Brothers fan Billy Joel inducted the pair into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a glowing 7-minute speech.
Always active and stretching his creative talents, Medley has also sung on the soundtracks or performed the theme songs for 33 movies and TV shows and, in 2014, released his memoir, The Time of My Life, published by Da Capo Press.
Bucky Heard is an Alabama native and Auburn University alum. He’s been one of the most popular and versatile performers in America for several years, headlining countless shows in major venues. His reputation as a gutsy rock and roll singer, with an incredible vocal range, has garnered much critical praise and a legion of fans.
He’s been hand-selected to share the concert stage with legends like Andy Williams and Glen Campbell, and honored as “Male Vocalist of the Year” by entertainment publications. Credited with being one of the hardest working and in-demand performers, Heard has rocked his way across America with his 10-piece horn band, and also starred in numerous national production shows.
Multi-talented and always seeking to expand his musical horizons, he recently created, wrote, and produced an original children’s musical variety show called, Rock U Mentally, which headlined the American Bandstand Theatre for two consecutive summers!
Heard says teaming with Bill Medley in The Righteous Brothers has been a wonderful gift … Performing with Bill Medley is like getting your PhD in show business! He is more than a legend; he puts everything into every performance, and really understands how to connect with an audience. He motivates me to be my best and I’m so grateful for this opportunity!
Richard Kaufman has devoted much of his musical life to conducting and supervising music for film and television productions, as well as performing film and classical music in concert halls and on recordings. As he concluded his 30th year as Principal Pops Conductor of Pacific Symphony at the end of the 2021-22 season, it was announced that Kaufman was given the title of Principal Pops Conductor Laureate. He is in his 16th season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series, “CSO at the Movies,” and holds the permanent title of Pops Conductor Laureate with the Dallas Symphony.
Kaufman regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and around the world, including New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, the RTÉ Concert and RTÉ National Orchestras in Dublin, Indianapolis, San Diego, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In September 2018, he made his conducting debut with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Soon, he will make his conducting debuts with the Fort Worth Symphony and the New World Symphony in Florida. Kaufman has had the great honor of sharing the podium on various engagements with John Williams, leading the first half of the performance prior to Williams’ conducting the second half.
In addition to traditional concert presentations, Kaufman often conducts complete film scores in concert, synchronizing the music as the film is shown above the orchestra. These include Amadeus, Casablanca, North by Northwest, Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Psycho, Vertigo, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, The Bride of Frankenstein, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Silverado, On the Waterfront, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Beyond, Home Alone, and Star Wars (various episodes). He also conducts the scores to various silent films.
Kaufman received the 1993 GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Pop Instrumental Performance.” He has recorded with the London Symphony, Nuremberg Symphony, the New Zealand Symphony, and the Brandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin. He has also conducted for numerous performers including John Denver, Andy Williams, Nanette Fabray, Amy Grant, the Beach Boys, Chicago, Chris Botti, Arturo Sandoval, and many others. As a studio violinist, Kaufman performed on numerous film and television scores including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and (in a moment of desperation) Animal House. He has recorded and performed in concert with artists including John Denver, Burt Bacharach, the Carpenters, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra.
Kaufman served as music associate to Lionel Newman at 20th Century Fox before joining the music department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios in 1984 as music coordinator. For 18 years, he supervised music at MGM, during which he received two Emmy® Award nominations. As a unique part of his career, Kaufman has coached various actors in musical roles, including Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore, and Tom Hanks.
Kaufman has conducted numerous theatrical productions, including the 1st National Tour of Company for Harold Prince and Two Gentleman of Verona for Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival. He also served at Music Director/Conductor for various productions produced by Edwin Lester for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and San Francisco Civic Light Opera.
In 2012, Kaufman received the Distinguished Alumni Award from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where, as a student, he composed the University’s Alma Mater and Fight Song. He is a member of the music advisory board of the Young Musicians Foundation and is on the board of the Film Music Foundation.
Born in Los Angeles, Kaufman began violin studies at the age of seven, played in the Peter Meremblum California Junior Symphony, was a member of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, attended the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood in the fellowship program, and earned a degree in music from California State University, Northridge. His wife, Gayle, is a former dancer/actress in film, television, and on Broadway. His daughter, Whitney, is a singer/actress performing on recordings and in concert with orchestras around the world. He is proud to be represented by Matthew Oberstein at Opus 3 Artists.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) was one of the most esteemed composers of film music in the history of Hollywood. The scores he created were not only extraordinary both dramatically and musically, but he wrote with equal brilliance in every musical genre. The Ten Commandments, The Man With the Golden Arm, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Escape, The Comancheros, True Grit, Sweet Smell of Success, The Magnificent Seven, Summer and Smoke, Hawaii, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Animal House, Ghostbusters, Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Three Amigos, Far From Heaven...the list goes on and on.
Bernstein’s music was not merely confined to motion pictures and television. He also wrote brilliantly for the concert hall and Broadway stage.
He was a deeply respected leader in Hollywood. He served as Vice President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, President of the Young Musicians Foundation, and President of the Composer and Lyricists Guild of America.
Bernstein is, without question, a Hollywood legend. His career spanned over five decades, during which he composed more than 150 film scores and nearly 80 for television. Many of his themes, deeply moving, vividly exciting, and instantly recognizable, have become part of the musical fabric of America.
Tonight, as the world celebrates the 100th Anniversary year of his birth, Pacific Symphony pays tribute to a Hollywood treasure as we present the magnificent music of a truly magnificent composer, Elmer Bernstein.
- By Richard Kaufman