Following a 10 year absence from live performing, and an additional 10 years since appearing in Las Vegas, Helen Reddy is set to perform at The Orleans Showroom, Saturday and Sunday, February 15 and 16.
When this reporter was associated with Robert Goulet, we had an opportunity to meet and watch this talented lady work. It was at the Desert Inn, in the mid-eighties. Reddy was Goulet’s opening act and she was absolutely wonderful. Robert would stand off stage and listen to her as she performed. He didn’t do that very often with an opening act.
Best known as a recording artist, Reddy had more than 15 singles on the Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 – six of which hit the Top 10, with three reaching No. 1 – including her signature hit, “I Am Woman.” In addition to Billboard chart success, Helen was the first recording artist to win a “Favorite Pop/Rock Female” American Music Award, the first Australian to win a Grammy Award, and to have three No. 1 hits in the same year. Reddy’s hit songs “I Am Woman,” and “Delta Dawn,” have been a part of numerous television and film soundtracks: “Sex and the City 2,” “Cold Case,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and “The Simpsons,” among others.
On television, Reddy was the first Australian to host her own hour-long weekly primetime variety show on an American network, along with several specials that were seen in more than 40 countries. She has also acted on the large and small screens with roles in films and television shows such as, “Airport 1975,” “Pete’s Dragon,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” and “Diagnosis Murder.” In theater, Helen starred in the musical “Blood Brothers” on London’s West End and on Broadway. As a solo concert artist, she has played at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, as well as the Royal Albert Hall and the Palladium in London.
In 2006, Reddy released what became a best-selling memoir, “The Woman I Am.” “The Woman I Am: The Definitive Collection” and many of her early recordings continue to be downloaded worldwide. Showtime each evening is 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39.95, plus tax and convenience fees, and can be purchased at any Boyd Gaming Box Office, by calling 702.365.7075, or visiting www.orleanscasino.com.
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If you haven’t already RSVP’d that you will be attending the non-club club F.I.O.R.E. (Fun Italians Organizing Ridiculous Events) Valentine party, this Thursday, February 13th, at the Italian American Club, we suggest you do so, sooner than later. Romance will be alive and well at 2333 E. Sahara, beginning at 5:30 p.m. when the doors to the club open. Dress as your favorite Silent Movie Era star (1920-ish), or not. Gary Anderson, Nik Mastrangelo, and the ever indulging host, Nelson Sardelli, are inviting everyone to dance to the Live Music of the Dateless Wonders. Surprise guest performers are sure to stop by to sing a note or two. There will be a delicious buffet, enticing 50/50 giveaways, roses and chocolate for the ladies, and more. Cost is $25 per person. All widows of past presidents are always F.I.O.R.E. guests. To RSVP, e-mail to [email protected]. The F.I.O.R.E. is not for everyone, so be sure to check it out on the Google thing.
The Blonde Divas will debut their show in Las Vegas at the Italian American Club, Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m, The Blonde Divas will have the Michael T. Band backing them in the music department. This trio of gorgeous ladies were formed in 2008, when sisters, Dixie Lu Sims and Nancy Renée Emmerich, found Dixie Jo Henson, who had a rich alto voice that blended perfectly with their soprano voices. They adopted Henson as their “soul sister,” and the group was formed singing “oldies” from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, including tunes made famous by the McGuire Sisters, Andrews Sisters, and Glenn Miller. Recently the ladies have been writing and recording original material, which will be available for purchase on CD Baby, iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon MP3, online music stores.
Real sisters, Emmerich and Sims, were born in , Salem, Oregon, and both attended and graduated from Western Oregon University. Nancy plays piano and organ. In college, she started out in musical theater, then moved to opera, coming up through the ranks at Portland Opera in Oregon. Later she attended the Julliard School of Music in New York, earning a Master’s of Music in voice. Sims graduated with a degree in education and a minor in music and taught second grade. She later sang in a gospel group called Discovery. Dixie has recently discovered she is a talented lyricist, writing most of the groups’ original songs, which tend to be humorous and country. They have 14 new songs out on a CD titled, “Laughin’ at Life.”
Henson was born in the South and moved about the country. She was raised on country music and sang harmony with her mother, who was also a performer. As an adult, Dixie Jo would on occasion perform with her husband, Dan Henson. For more information, visit www.TheBlondeDivas.com,
Tickets for The Blonde Divas are $20, and can be ordered by calling the Italian American Club at 702-457-3866 or booking online at http://www.iacvegas.com/. The Italian American Club is located at 2333 E. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89104.
Davey Hamilton has renewed his partnership with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) for 2014, after a breakout 2013 season, saw the team capture its first two IndyCar Series wins, and place third in the championship with Simon Pagenaud behind the wheel. Competing under the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports umbrella, the No. 77 entry will begin its pursuit of the 2014 IndyCar Series championship March 30 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Hamilton returns as a co-owner on the No. 77 car. “Working with Simon Pagenaud, and the entire Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team, has been fun because we know that each time the car hits the track we have the opportunity to win,” Hamilton said. “This is a true team sport, and having continuity in personnel for the third year in a row will enable us to not only win more races but also contend for a championship.” The relationship between Schmidt and Hamilton dates all the way back to 1997, when they were rival competitors in the IndyCar Series, and expanded in 2001 when Hamilton debuted as the first driver for SPM. “Davey and I go way back, and we think a lot alike,” Schmidt said. “From racing against each other, to him driving for me in 2001, to us sharing rehabilitation stories at the bar, we are first and foremost friends. The continuity Davey will bring to the No. 77 car program is essential to the fine-tuning we’re doing at SPM for what we hope will be a strong run at the IndyCar championship this season.”
Well, gang, that’s about it for this week.