Hi Everybody:

My name is Anthony Gourdine but most people call me “Little Anthony” thanks to Alan Freed. I’m a grown man, a grandfather and very much alive. Let me first say, I am privileged to be able to write a column for (Las) Vegas Community Online on a regular basis.

My family and I now live in Las Vegas and I love it here. Professionally speaking, it has always been “home” and now as a resident, I get to go home again and again. When I lived in New York or Los Angeles, Vegas was “home” too – who ever said you can’t live a personal life and professional one? They were wrong.

A lot has been happening this year. It seems as though The Imperials and I are being “rediscovered”. We’re nominees to be inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame along with Metallica, The Stooges, Chic, Wanda Jackson etc. Being honored by your peers is such a complement – like when Billy Joel inducted us into the Long Island Vocal Group Hall Of Fame two years ago. I’m usually not speechless but that day two years ago, I got somewhat choked up.

I guess if you survive and stay around long enough, your entertainment peers recognize your accomplishments and your talent. Here in Las Vegas I live with so many of my peers and that is, for me, a bonus – “it doesn’t get better than that”.

The Imperials, who are still the originals, and I have just released our new CD, “You’ll Never Know” on our own label, Imperials Plus this week. We were in New York the other day to do our very first in-store signing in our 50 year career. We were at J&R Music which is near City Hall. It was a huge success. Thank you to all those who attended the J&R event.

I’m shopping around a book – a bio of sorts telling the whole story from the Ft. Greene projects in Brooklyn to headlining the Strip. From “Ed Sullivan to David Letterman”, and 45 rpms to downloads, Little Anthony & The Imperials have run the show biz gamut. If I do say so myself, we are blessed by some of the greatest fans in the world. We love and strive to entertain and our 50 years of doing so, just made it all the sweeter.

A special thanks to Mayor Goodman – he presented us with the “Key To The City” in 2003. It doesn’t seem to open anything though but it made us feel so welcome. The weather is great most of the time – except for the summer months. I guess you can’t have everything. I have to say, I been round the world and Vegas stands up against any city in the US.

Not to take anything away from The Strip, as famous and legendary as it is, but Las Vegas is also made up of churches, excellent schools, amazing homes, shopping malls, etc. Just like any great city, the people here have hopes and dreams for themselves, and their families. You also get to live in the beauty of the desert. It is also The West here but uniquely, the people of Las Vegas seem to have a “Midwest value system”. That combination attracted me and although I will always be a New Yorker, I am proud to say I’m proud of my new roots here in Vegas.

This is my first column and I wrote it while I was staying at the On The Ave Hotel located at W. 77^th and Broadway. Sitting in a charming hotel room can be good therapy sometimes and in regards to this column, my hotel stay offered me a “time and place to write”. Once again, my New York merged with my Las Vegas. I’ll always be “a little bit New York and a little bit Vegas” and that suits me fine at age 67.

I hope to share more thoughts in my upcoming columns. Don’t forget our veterans and if you think that we don’t live in the greatest country in the world, think again.

Until the next time click on our www.littleanthonyandtheimperials.net website for information on tour dates, the new CD and available downloads – yes, downloads man, it’s the 21^st century.