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| July 9, 2007 | NEWEST - PRIOR WEEK - ARCHIVES |
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| "It's The Norm" - Las Vegas Entertainment Events | |
MARY WILSON SINGS SUPREME &
SONNY TURNER'S PLATTERS
The Supreme, Supreme, Mary Wilson, will make her poolside debut at the Silverton Hotel & Casino, this coming Saturday (July 14), with the show set to kick off at 8 p.m. Ms. Wilson, who just concluded a highly successful tour of the East Coast (with a final stop in New York, where she wowed audiences for 10 nights in the glamorous Feinsteins at Lowe's Regency Room), will be in concert. Wilson, who has made her home in Las Vegas for the past five years, is looking forward to a new venue in Las Vegas. Her last local appearance was a crowd-pleasing two-nights at the downtown Golden Nugget in April. I missed seeing the Nugget show, as that was when I had my surgery. But you can bet I'll be there this Saturday!
 "Las Vegas is my home and I truly love entertaining here," says the dynamic singer. "I have so many friends who live here and they are always asking when I will be performing again in Las Vegas." Wilson's latest album "I Am Changing," has been getting rave reviews. When you go to a Mary Wilson show, you have the opportunity to hear those many hits produced by the Supremes and sung exactly like they were meant to be sung. Wilson has also, of course, incorporated many hits of today in her free-flowing show which includes jazz, blues, gospel and some of those good Golden Oldies everyone likes to hear. Tickets are priced at $25.00 with reservations available by calling (702) 914-8557. Went to the Suncoast the other evening to see a "real" Platter sing some of the songs he helped The Platters make famous. Sonny Turner is his name and the Platters was his home for a number of years. Turner replaced one of the original Platters, lead singer Tony Williams, in 1959 when Williams decided to go out on his own. Sonny stayed with the group until 1970. His voice is heard on many of the recordings we hear on the radio today. |
Turner's show opens with a video of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," where Turner is being introduced as the lead singer for the Platters. In his Suncoast show, Sonny appears on stage, backed by a 7-piece band under the direction of musical conductor, Steve Cantor, and "his" Platters: Wendy Edmead (formerly with the Pointer Sisters), Robert DeBlanc (former member of the Marvin Gaye group) and Daemian Lowe. One is immediately taken back in time with such hits as "Magic Touch," "Only You" and of course "The Great Pretender." You are captured by this man, who at 68, still has the voice of a youngster and the energy of a teenager. Turner doesn't miss a beat when he does a fantastic tribute to the original members of The Platters: Herb Reed (founder and bass singer) who is still alive and performing, Paul Robi, David Lynch, Williams and Zola Taylor who went to the "Golden Stage" about two months ago. He also performs a special tribute to Buck Ram, who wrote many of the Platter hits and managed the group from 1953 until his death in 1991 (there were many legal battles over the years as to ownership of the name, Platters). Turner sings two of Ram's greatest hits "I Love You 1,000 Times" and "With This Ring."  Ms. Edmead and DeBlanc do a wonderful duet of the Nat King Cole hit, "Unforgettable" while Sonny catches a well deserved break and his breath. I would think the Boyd Group, who owns the Suncoast, should be very happy with Sonny Turner and his Platters as the showroom was SRO all three nights (fortunately I sat with his manager, Marvin Lashever). I also presume that the phones will be quite busy at Marvin's office this week. THIS AND THAT QUICKLY: No sooner have we (the media) gotten used to calling the premier race for NASCAR the Nextel Cup, than its changed its name again. Not sure, but I do believe this is about the fifth or sixth time that the business of Stock Car Racing has had a name change. It all began in the late '40s when a group of guys (and a couple of gals) got together in Florida and decided to form a club of sorts. The most famous sponsor of the modern era was R.J. Reynolds's and its Winston brand of cigarettes. The Winston Cup was taken over by Nextel in 2004. Now they've gone and changed it to the "Sprint Cup" beginning Jan. 1, 2008... "Lunchtime With Ira," live from the Las Vegas Hilton," a weekly television / radio / internet show, is moving its flagship radio broadcast (KDWN AM 720) from Thursdays at 9 p.m. to Saturdays at 9 p.m. with Ira Sternberg as the host... The "Ragin' Cajun," Doug Kershaw, will be at the Suncoast this weekend (14-15), with comedian Bill Engvall set to perform July 19-22 at The Orleans... If you want to listen and see a great little TV thing, produced by singer Frankie Randall, then go to www.youtube.com and check out Frankie Randall - The Singer. It's a wonderful song about The Man, Frank Sinatra... Well, gang, that's about it for this week. I'm outa here!
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