Some say you can’t create magic, but Bob Anderson proves it every night either in his ‘tribute’ to Frank Sinatra with a 32-piece orchestra, or his hundreds of other impressions like in his personal show at the South Point Hotel, opening Friday, August 30 through Sunday, Sept. 1, where he sings as himself or in at least a couple dozen other singing star voices.
His appearance as Sinatra, however, is not just a tribute, it is more than that: It’s a musical masterpiece.. Bob has dedicated years to mastering Sinatra’s voice, look and persona. Like Sinatra, Anderson’s jazz-oriented sense of time is flawless, and his diction and intonation are perfect. He decided to take a break from his Sinatra show and return to the town where it all started—Las Vegas.
While others dreamed of being recording stars, Anderson actually became them. No one had ever impersonated singers like the vocal giants of that time before. When Anderson began his career, there were no singing impressionists. There was Rich Little, David Frye, and Fred Travalena, and they did not sing.
As a young boy, he would listen over and over again to the sounds of Davis, Frank, Bennett, and others in that genre, singing along with their records. He began his career in his hometown of Detroit. In 1973, after returning from Vietnam, the 21-year- old Anderson decided to take a trip out west, eventually landing at a bar inside the Sahara Hotel/Casino, where he met Mark Tan, a writer and critic for the Hollywood Reporter. Tan invited him to go with him to the Conga Room to watch Nancy Sinatra rehearse, and that’s when fate stepped in. The Everly Brothers, who were booked as the opening act for Nancy, got into an argument and walked out of the show, leaving Sinatra without an opening act.
Bob was a singer. He volunteered and Billy Strange, Nancy’s conductor, gave him a chance. Forty-five minutes later Anderson was in the limo with Nancy going to get fitted for a suit. Subsequently, Nancy brought Anderson along with her during an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show. Griffin was very impressed with Anderson and months later he invited Bob to his 50th birthday celebration, an evening that would change the direction of Anderson’s career, if not his life. It was at Griffin’s party, where Anderson started singing and imitating the voices of well-known vocalists. Aware that he was looking at a unique talent, Griffin turned to Anderson and said, We’ve found your act. You’re going to be “The Singing Impressionist.”
By 1977, the road to stardom was unstoppable for Anderson. He appeared on more than 100 talk shows over a period of seven years, and his two-week gig at the “Top of the Dunes” turned into 10 years of entertaining the Super Stars of The Las Vegas Strip who would pack his 2:00 a.m. performance to watch Anderson do them.
Anderson wrote and stars in the award-winning show, “FRANK The Man The Music” currently on tour with Live Nation and will soon be heading to Broadway under the General Management of Multi-Tony Award Winning Producer, Eva Price.
THIS AND THAT QUICKLY:
Greg Hahn is currently creating a ton of laughter at the world-famous Laugh Factory inside the Tropicana Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, along with Jay Davis and Rocky Dale Davis. Showtimes are 8:30 and 1030 p.m. nightly.
Greg is a favorite on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show, Greg has also appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, CBS, ABC, FOX, MTV and CMT. Hahn has parlayed his absurdly energetic, all out style of physical humor, one liners and crowd work into a performance of immediate pandemonium and continuous laughs. His unique stylings have led to numerous television, corporate and theater appearances throughout the US and Canada.
As a college basketball player, his enjoyment of half court shots earned him a sweet spot on the bench. As a Captain in the Marines Corps, Greg kept his men highly motivated and could not overemphasize that camouflage is continuous. While a buyer for Lockheed Corporation, he thought “Why make $200 a day, when I can be a comedian and make that in a week?”
After several serious jobs where he refused to be serious, Greg turned pro as a stand-up comedian and landed a job as emcee for a theme park lumberjack show. This supplied him with four audiences a day, intoxicated ax swinging lumberjacks, and a log rolling dog. Soon afterwards, he worked as stuntman in the Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show at Universal Studios. “For $20 an hour, I’d run out and get hit in the head with a stick, perfect!”
He continually honed his style of comedy then headed to New York City. While in New York, Greg developed into a touring headliner and costarred in the independent film Tomorrow Night which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Then, after successful shows at the Montreal and Chicago comedy festivals, Hahn appeared on all the late-night shows , and began touring the world with his special blend of comedy.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is set to debut a new ticket for the South Point 400 that will provide a unique viewing perspective of this year’s race. LVMS is adding a $49 standing room only ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs kickoff event in its highly popular Turn 4 Turn Up area on the concourse level. Fans can enjoy the 267-lap South Point 400 from one of the most scenic vantage points on the entire property, with a great view of the 1.5-mile speedway in the foreground and the Las Vegas Strip serving as a one-of-a-kind backdrop.
The new ticket option is a great way for racing fans to enjoy the whole NASCAR experience at LVMS and witness history as the MENCS Playoffs begin in Las Vegas for the second straight year. Fans are limited to four standing room only tickets per person as part of this new offer.
The Turn 4 Turn Up area once again will feature a wading pool, Ferris wheel, DJ, interactive games, food trucks and drink specials in a festival-like atmosphere. The special gathering spot will be open from noon-7 p.m. Pacific Time for the South Point 400. All grandstand ticket holders will continue to have free access to this area as well.
Brad Keselowski is the race’s defending champion, and reigning MENCS Champion Joey Logano won the first Cup Series event of the year, the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, on March 3. They will take on a talented field of the best drivers in the world as they look to punch their ticket to the next round of the MENCS Playoffs.
The South Point 400 will be preceded by the World of Westgate 200 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race on Friday, Sept. 13, and the Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 14. Tickets, Neon Garage, Lucky 7 Preferred Parking and Driver Introduction passes are available for all LVMS races at www.lvms.com or by calling 1-800-644-4444.
Club 101 is now open at SLS Las Vegas®, soon to be renamed The Sahara. The weekly pop-up parties, which take place every Friday and Saturday night, offer spectacle, specials and so much more, including Sky Vodka bottle service, available for a never-before-heard-of Strip price of $101.
Club 101 features open-format house DJs, ultra-high-definition video screens displaying a variety of visually stimulating, artistic content and open seating for all guests both inside and on its Strip-facing outdoor patio. Club 101 offers complimentary admission to all guests age 21 and up every Friday and Saturday starting at 9:30 p.m. For more information, please visit slslasvegas.com, and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
As the entry list continues to grow, Las Vegas NASCAR veteran and second-generation desert racer Brendan Gaughan, fellow second-gen Las Vegas desert racing brothers Tim Herbst and Troy Herbst and SoCal third-gen desert racing cousins Brian Wilson and Brad Wilson are among the latest entries for next month’s Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 as racers to date have come from 17 U.S. States and 3 countries. Celebrating its 46th year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, the new race will be held Sept. 18-22 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
Online racer registration in ongoing through the SCORE website for Round 3 of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship. Entries from all across the United States and around the world are anticipated for the upcoming internationally-televised desert race in Mexico’s Baja California. The race and pre-race festivities will be held in and around the heart of Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.
With 66 early entries to date that includes racers from 17 U.S. States, host Mexico, Denmark and Italy, SCORE Trophy Truck leads the way with 24 entries. Entries from the USA include racers from Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Gaughan, 44, has competed in nearly 500 races total in his long career in the three top tier NASCAR race series. This year he has scaled back his NASCAR schedule, having raced in the two Daytona and the first Talladega NASCAR Cup races with a high finish of eighth in Talladega and is competing fulltime in the unlimited Class 1 in the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship. Driving the No. 162 South Point Racing Chevy-powered HMS open-wheel desert race car in the unlimited Class 1, Gaughan opened the season with a fifth-place finish in the SCORE San Felipe 250 and followed that with an eighth-place finish in his class in the SCORE Baja 500. He is currently in fifth place in the Class 1 season points as just three points separate third through fifth place midway through the season.
Both driving Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Trucks built by their own Herbst/Smith Fabrication in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tim Herbst, 56, and Troy Herbst, 53, will be among the favorites in the marquee SCORE racing division. Tim Herbst will drive the No. 19 Monster Energy SCORE Trophy Truck while Troy will be behind the wheel of the near-identical No. 54 Monster Energy SCORE Trophy Truck. Troy’s second driver will be Las Vegas’ Pat Dean, 50.
Well, gang, see ya at the Bob Anderson show this weekend.
I’m outa here!