Editor's Note: We get it. You all miss Las Vegas. You want to come back once things are safe. And we are currently doing our best to make our city safe for your return. But in the meantime, we want you to feel connected to Las Vegas, to learn more about it so that when you do return, you appreciate it even more. So welcome to our latest series, Vegas Library, featuring books written by famous entertainers of the past and present, books written by Las Vegas authors, and books about the history of Las Vegas. You'll learn things about Vegas you never knew before while getting to know people and places you'll look forward to seeing once you return.
There’s a moment during The Righteous Brothers’ show at Harrah’s where Bill Medley takes a moment to plug his memoir The Time of My Life. Medley tells the audience, “If you knew what was in this book, you probably wouldn’t be here tonight.” He then sighs heavily and chucks the book across the stage as if it were a rotten tomato. Pay him no mind. The juicy tales told in his memoir are exactly what you want know. While Medley may have some regrets, if you were to compare the contents of his memoir to other rock ’n’ roll autobiographies, Medley is an angel. By the end of the book, you’re not likely to feel contempt for Medley; rather, you’ll be more inclined to respect the man.
Medley’s memoir also, in a sense, gives you a front-seat view of Old Vegas, and you may be surprised how integral The Righteous Brothers were to ushering Vegas into a new era. They were the first rock group to play an extended engagement in town, at the Sands no less, where Frank Sinatra was the king. In fact, they needed to wait for Sinatra’s approval before they could book the gigs. Remember: Rock ’n’ roll couldn’t have been further from the minds of the Vegas establishment; at the time, the city’s movers and shakers barely even knew, or cared, about The Beatles. As Medley puts it, “the mob guys, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra—it was their world and we were just living in it.”
But Medley and his singing partner Bobby Hatfield conquered Vegas. Despite the Vegas establishment’s skepticism of rock ’n’ roll, The Righteous Brothers’ success began changing the status quo, with Mob figureheads nicknaming the duo the “Golden Boys” for doing such good business. Sinatra, it seems, also took a liking to the group, especially to Medley, and the singer’s stories of Sinatra are captivating. One scene Medley describes is when he and Hatfield were introduced to Sinatra by the Sands’ entertainment director Jack Entratter. They were told by Entratter, “Don’t say anything, don’t do anything—just go in and have your picture taken.” To Medley’s surprise, Sinatra starting talking to him and Hatfield, and ended up coaching the boys on how to best alleviate the dreaded “Vegas throat” singers often lament, with one of many remedies leaving Medley and Hatfield smelling like eucalyptus for three months afterward.
Sinatra wasn’t the only Vegas icon Medley got to know. Medley was also a close friend to Elvis Presley. The two had known each other before Presley began performing at the International Hotel (now Westgate) in 1969, but their time in Vegas together (Presley played in the International Theater, and Medley performed solo in the hotel’s 600-seat lounge) brought their relationship to a deeper level. The two singers often hung out together as The King was getting ready for his midnight show and the two ultimately forged a bond. At the time, Medley was considered one of Presley’s only true friends. But more importantly, in the book, Medley is able to humanize Presley, describing him as a playful, down-to-earth person, constantly joking around and making people laugh. Medley assumes Presley resorted to humor in order to mask his sadness or the immense pressure of stardom. The King reigned onstage, but behind closed doors he was just Elvis—a shy, insecure and often sensitive guy.
Beyond Vegas, Medley ruminates on the nature of fame, what it was like to be a rock singer in the ‘60s, his shaky working relationship with Bobby Hatfield, and the boyhood experiences that shaped him as a man and a singer. And although The Righteous Brothers aren’t remembered at the top of the rock pantheon, they left an indelible impact on rock ’n’ roll—it’s bigger than most people think. One might even learn a few bits of rock trivia, like that The Righteous Brothers were the opening act for both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when the bands crossed the pond for their first U.S. tours, and that Medley was the actual producer of The Righteous Brothers hit “Unchained Melody,” not Phil Spector. It’s a compelling memoir, and if you’re a fan of rock music or stories of Old Vegas, it belongs on your bookshelf.
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