Bill Medley recalls Elvis Presley offering him pills

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Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley says Elvis Presley once offered him a cocktail of pills while they were performing at the same Las Vegas hotel in 1969.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer — known for tunes including “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and “Unchained Melody” — claimed that the “Hound Dog” crooner pulled out a container of prescription drugs once while they were hanging out in Presley’s dressing room.

“[Presley] asked me if I wanted any and I said, ‘No, no, I’m having enough trouble being straight,’” Medley recalled to Page Six in a recent interview.

Medley added that Presley, whose addiction to pills was revealed years after he died of heart failure at age 42 in 1977, didn’t think he had any type of drug problem.

“Even when he asked me [if I wanted any] and I said no, he said, ‘Bill, I really know what I’m doing here,’” the 81-year-old singer said.

“I don’t think he felt like he was a drug addict or had a problem or anything but someone should have told him no.”

The “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” singer became close friends with Presley while they both performed at the International Hotel during the summer of 1969.

Medley also claimed that Presley’s close pals, dubbed the “Memphis Mafia,” were “really good guys but they really didn’t have a say” when it came to trying to help the King of Rock and Roll.

“‘No’ would have been a good word to use,” Medley said, alleging that Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, “kept people away that would maybe convince Elvis he didn’t need all that.”

Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley.
Medley formed The Righteous Brothers with Bobby Hatfield (left) in 1963.
Redferns

Medley, who formed The Righteous Brothers with the late Bobby Hatfield, is still performing, now with Bucky Heard, and will be in the tri-state area later this month.

“I’ve been blessed with this throat even though I have to pay a lot of attention to it and I have to be very careful with it, these songs aren’t just easy to do,” he confessed. “I have to do everything I can do to stay in front of this voice.”

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