February '10 Entertainment—Little Anthony's This and That Column

Weekend At Bernie’s or Barack’s?

T
he classic comedy, “Weekend At Bernie’s” came out in 1989 and the premise of the film was how two bungling guys who stumble on a dead body of a man they owed money to. Their agreement was to work off their debt by “house sitting for the weekend.” The man they owed money to, Bernie, was Weekend At Bernie's

obnoxious and working off their debt would make their lives easier, to say the least. They arrive at Bernie’s house and he is deader than the famed Monty Python skit parrot.

The two guys try to get rid of the body and all sorts of comical things happen. When they fail numerous times to move Bernie’s body, they concoct a scheme to make it seem he is alive and not dead. This is where the film gets real funny. First, a drunken woman friend of Bernie turns up at the house who wants to give Bernie a piece of her mind. They convince her Bernie is upstairs sleeping and before they know, she decides to head upstairs. She sees Bernie in bed and joins him. By the time the two guys find her, she has a smile on her face—yeah, you guessed it, she had sex with a dead man thinking all along he was more than alive, if you know what I mean.

This bait-and-switch comedy reminded me of how President Barack Obama’s health reform bill is now laying in repose in Congress. This bill is like Bernie—it is dead in the house. Some Obama people and his Press Secretary keep trying to persuade others it is still alive and kicking. I hate to be the one to tell them, the bill is “dead” and like the parrot in Monty Python, it should be returned to sender.

President Lincoln is quoted as saying, “you can fool some of the people some time and most of the people most of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” I think I got that right—well, if not, I paraphrased it as best I could. You get the message though—I guess you could also say, like The Who, “We won’t get fooled again”...

I promised my publisher of vegascommunityonline.com that I would not pile stuff on our President especially when his popularity is so far down. I really don’t—he has a thankless job to put it mildly. But, as I said before Mr. President, the “center” is the only way you make things fly in politics. He is letting his ideology get in the way of realism. If he doesn’t move to the “center lane,” it will die on an “unhealthy vine.”

Oops, Maybe You Shouldn’t Call Me “Mr. Gadget” Yet

Thanks to the LV Best Buy, my computer and I are seeing eye-to-eye—well kind of. I just figured out some of the programs now operating in my computer. Yeah, it is all trial and error for me but I am determined. I am upgraded and learning day-by-day.

I just learned how to make letters bigger and smaller and I am responding to emails more rapidly than ever. I really shouldn’t use the word “rapid,” but for me, it is just that. I can “Google” and I can do searches on “Yahoo” now. This is huge step for me. My typing has also stepped up a notch—from bad to better. I now type with all 10 fingers, not just 2.

You may laugh but I used to type with two fingers—it’s true. I use all my fingers now and my speed is increasing. For me, this is like walking on the moon taking a giant step for mankind. So, maybe you shouldn’t call me “Mr. Gadget” quite just yet.

For example, I have figured out how to operate my iPhone and that is amazing in itself. The more I live with the thing, the better I get. My computer and my iPhone are working their way into my life and let’s face it, I’m no kid. I’m a grand pop learning his way around a 21st century tech campus. It sure ain’t dull, but to be continued...

LV Hilton April 30th and Rick White

I know I mentioned we are going to be headlining the Las Vegas Hilton for the first time in our 50+ year career. I sat in their main room many times. I dreamed that one day The Imperials and I would hit that stage running. Well that day is coming fast and I could not be happier—mark your calendar Friday, April 30th.

I called up the Hilton’s Rick White and I introduced myself to the man behind LV Hilton talent. Rick invited me to lunch and it was one of the coolest meetings I have ever been at. Sometimes you meet the entertainment coordinator at a hotel/casino and they are aloof and distant. Not Rick White. He was beaming saying how word of the Letterman performance and the 25th Anniversary of the Rock HOF/Madison Square number were the talk of bookers nationwide. How do you still sing like that Anthony he asked me?

I have been asked that question before but talking to veteran exec like Rick White, I was honored and tongue-tied at the same time. The fact of the matter is, I now sing better than when I was in my 20s and 30s and that is because I take it seriously. I love to sing. I know it is a gift and gifts like that should be cared for, treasured and nurtured.

Rick told me the Hilton is putting up 6 or 7 billboards around Vegas and encouraged me to bring in strings, our band, a tympani player—the works. He kept referring to the Letterman performance and it dawned on me the impact that “Hurt So Bad” created when we did the show back in August of 2008. Thanks to YouTube that performance and the streaming Letterman did gives us a video we could not have purchased if we wanted to.

We will have 19 people on stage at the LV Hilton and we are designing new outfits for our band as well. It is going to cost us and I doubt we will make money on the show. That is not important. The Imperials and I want to make a Las Vegas statement and we waited so long to perform at the LV Hilton, we are pulling out all the stops. It will be a grand performance and worth every dime we plan to incorporate in it.

“There is no business like show business” and today, in the year 2010, that expression is more valid than ever before. I mentioned that I plan to interview Rick White and I intend to fulfill that promise but not today. I’ll tell you why. Rick was so complementary of The Imperials and I saying no one does what we do on stage—no one. I was caught off-guard throughout the lunch and I could not think to ask questions. My heart was pounding like crazy. I knew our Hilton debut April 30th show was going to be a “career concert.”

Rick mentioned we met years and years ago. He used to book me as a solo act in the ’80s in Reno when they did their “Hot August Nights Concerts.” Those shows were so much fun and I had a blast doing them. They say the world is getting smaller and that is true. But, the entertainment business world is even smaller and what comes around goes around for sure. Look for my interview with Rick to come in the next couple of weeks. I should be over being tongue-tied by then and my computer skills up another notch.

Oh When The Saints Come Marching In

Louis Armstrong made “When The Saints Come Marching In” immortal, but The New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl gave new meaning to that classic song. Ladies and gentlemen, in case you didn’t hear it, no city needed a lift more. I can still hear former President George Bush saying (after Katrina) “We’re gonna fix this.”

Well, if you tour New Orleans, now 4 years later, a lot is still un-fixed. The Saints winning the Super Bowl did fix things—maybe not in regard to construction and re-building, but in NO spirit and in hope. What Katrina did, the NO Saints are undoing.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Brees, Reggie Bush, Sean Payton, the coach of The Saints, Mr. Shockey, the entire team and the Saints owner, Tom Benson for a job well done. Like I heard on CNN, “The Saints aren’t the Ain’ts anymore.” It took over 40 years, but now they are the champs and the Colts, the chumps. Turnabout is fair play.

Who Dat? Who said they couldn’t accomplish this feat? Who Dat? Well, they did—big time. The Saints are leading the charge and New Orleans is coming back better than ever.

I was invited over to my neighbor’s house to watch the Super Bowl and chow down. I want to thank you Richard and Linda for your wonderful hospitality. The food was so good that even now I can still taste some of the dishes I sampled time and time again that Super Bowl Sunday. Linda and Richard you give “neighbors” a name to be proud of...

Observer Music Monthly—Legends Photo

I don’t want to sound redundant, but I have to comment again on the photo that the Observer Music Monthly shot of The Imperials and I back in October. It is such a classic photo and I loved going down in the subway (again) to pose for that photo. It is such an honor to be chosen as one of their “Legends” and although we rarely perform in the UK, I for one, would be on a plane in a minute if we had the right engagement. Do I hear “London calling”?

The photo proves to me that Little Anthony & The Imperials are truly “international music legends.” The photo also depicts our “original studio”—the subway corridor. It is an image that stayed in tune with the image we have of ourselves. Little Anthony & The Imperials are not, nor ever were, just an oldies group. We are not just a doo wop group either. I feel the group and I are more than that—we’re R&B. This photo captures it. Thank you again—(London) Observer Music Monthly.

Best Things Come In Threes

Someone at my neighbor’s Super Bowl party asked me: What is the best thing that ever happened to you in your life and in your career? I thought for a minute. I wanted to be honest and not give them some publicity line. Finally, I said that the best things come in threes.

The Lord changing my life would be first
Second, marrying my wife Linda and my extended family
Third, being inducted into the Rock Hall Of Fame 2009 and performing at the 25th Anniversary concert last October

To Our Manager Selwyn Miller—Thank You

Little Anthony & The Imperials have been around the block more than a few times. We have lots of successes and numerous failures. We have had fights and we have had unity. We have had managers that sold us out and ones that stood by us. Our current manager, Selwyn Miller is a distinguished veteran manager and a charming man all rolled into one. We have been described as “unmanageable,” but working with Selwyn has the makings of a business friendship I have waited my career for. I love hearing him say, “Ant-tony” and he gives the group his all every day—can’t ask for more than that.

He recently paid us a terrific compliment saying, “Little Anthony & The Imperials induction into the Rock HOF unquestionably states emphatically that the group is a modern-day music legend. The American public vouched for that and other than The Dells, they are the only group of real originals left from that early rock era. This acclaim makes my job as their manager all that much more pleasurable and easier.”