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

SHARE |

The Tin Cup—Golf And America For Everyone
T
he day a dear friend of mine, Pete Wood, called me saying he had an opening for a golf game, he wanted to know if I would like to play. The course they were playing was called “Badlands.” I’ve had a lot on my mind of late: moving, doing interviews, concerned about The Mets, a slow concert summer, my kids, finances—the list goes on. I thought that a round of golf would do me some good. The more thought I gave to playing golf, the more it appealed to me. Besides the exercise, I would get a chance to spend time with my friend Pete and get to enjoy the outdoors for a little while anyway.

The breathtaking Badlands Golf Club Las Vegas

The tee time was 6:30 a.m. For those of you who might ask, why in the world would anybody play a golf game so early, I say two words, “Mojave Desert.” Yeah, here in the Vegas area temps in the summer time can reach 114—118 degrees. So at 6:30 a.m., it’s cooler and smarter to hit the links. But, I wasn’t writing this to bestow the virtues of playing early in the morning. Instead, this item is about who you play golf with and being American.

When you receive an invite to play golf, you either jump at the chance or you pass. I jumped at the chance but I had no idea who I would be playing with. I did not know who the other players were—I just knew Pete. So when I got to “Badlands” I realized I knew one of the guys—Lou. I met Lou once before, I believe it was at the Ciena Golf Club—Lou was a member. The other guy, I met him once before, years ago, somewhere in Vegas. Both Lou and his playing partner are prominent businessmen here in Las Vegas—call it a golf course 4-guy summit.

I call Pete “Okie from Muskogee”—I borrowed from the song—and this isn’t a kidding thing. I say it with respect and affection. Pete is a child of Oklahoma and when we were on the course together, we’re all different, yet the same. What my playing partners all had in common is they are Caucasian. Then, you add me and I am very Black. We may be racially different but during the course of our golf game it became evident we had two things in common: (1) we all love our country and (2) we love golf.

My golf partners are passionate men who respect you for the content of your character. Where am I going with this? Well, we all discussed how troubled we all are concerning the path that our country is heading. As anyone who has ever played a round of golf knows, you tee off more than a golf ball. As you go from hole to hole, you will talk about anything. And for whatever the reason, we began to pour our hearts out on our current government and its leadership. We all expressed how distressed we are about how our government is becoming a “beast consuming everything in its path.”

The four of us had a tough time focusing on our game. The conversation became heated and I must say the things said sounded like folks who are angry and unsettled. As we neared the end of our game, I told my golf buddies that day, “Remember November.” That is the time we can send our message—enough is enough. We can vote the rascals out of office and in doing so send a clear message back to President Obama that he must govern from “the center.” Otherwise, President Obama will be a lame duck President—the handwriting will be on the wall—you can’t spend what you don’t got.

Whatever Obama’s ideology is—it has to be in line with the majority of Americans. I’m not knocking Obama and instead I would rather write about my adventures in music. As a free-thinking American, I am driven by my heritage and passion to do the right thing as often as I can. The challenges we face are great and putting our heads in the sand hoping it will all go away amounts to nothing. You have to be pro-active nowadays. Between the oil spill mess, healthcare debate, the economy, the country’s debt and numerous other potholes, we as Americans have to change these situations. The ballot box in November is the answer and that way we can stand up and be counted—in more ways than one.

Film Persistence Wears Down Hollywood’s Resistance Every Time
Ken Osmond a.k.a. Eddie Haskell

Our good friend, Jim Full, is a former LA cop who patrolled the streets of LA with “Leave It To Beaver’s wolf in sheep’s clothing character Eddie Haskell”—played by Ken Osmond. It’s true, evil Eddie in real life became a LA cop—now retired. I did not mean to get off point but this is a keen aspect no matter how you look at it. Back to “Persistence”: we are getting closer to landing the funding for our film.

Jim Full wrote a great script and he is shopping it around and we would like to bring it to the attention of Time Life. As I understand it, today, in order to get a TV film done, you produce the film independently and then sell to TV or cable. Doug Barr, formerly of the “The Fall Guy” TV series is now a very accomplished producer and he is interested in doing the movie with us. We are putting all the film elements in place and you could say “it is our film persistence.”

Although this is an “off concert year” for many, including LA&TIs, it could just turn out to be a good year. Aside from the film we are shopping which is kind of “R&B Sunshine Boys,” our concert DVD is just about ready to be released in September (along with the Rock Hall concerts). If you recall, we shot it live at the Las Vegas Hilton back in April—our first time headlining the Las Vegas Hilton. I don’t mind saying, it is probably one of the best shows we have ever done—two DVDs all in time for the holidays. Mary Wilson

More On Our Concert DVD And Rock Con 2010
With the help of God, LA&TIs are about to accomplish a number of things we have always wanted to career-wise. The film, the concert DVD, our Rock Hall Of Fame induction/concert and “Rock Con 2010,’ give us reason to see our career going to greater heights. I am looking forward to “Rock Con 2010” (Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in E. Rutherford, NJ) for a number of reasons: we get to see our fans, mix with some of the greatest names in rock music, hang with our friend Mary Wilson of The Supremes, back in New York City (and New Jersey) and it will give me more stuff for my next column.

“Rock Con” is breaking new ground and although Country fans have long enjoyed a scheduled meet-and-greet of this caliber—rock has avoided it. No more and you have to accept that “times, they are a changin’” (didn’t Bob Dylan say that years ago?). I just got an email from our PR guy and he writes how USA Today is going to interview me about the upcoming weekend. This event just keeps getting better and better and we’re not even there as yet. I have heard the hotel is sold out but there are still tickets available (July 30, 31 and August 1).

Legendary Rock Hall Concerts Hit DVD—September 2010

I knew that the Rock Hall Concerts were going to be out on DVD but I just did not know when. Well, the concerts that featured Sting, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Metallica, Jeff Beck, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Paul Simon, Sam Moore, U2, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Little Anthony & The Imperials, to name a few is finally coming out on Sept. 28th on Time Life as a 3 DVD set..

You have probably all seen the HBO broadcasts of the concerts held at Madison Square Garden last October but the DVD will include 14 previously unseen performances. The unseen performances are, for me, another thrill. For example, James Taylor singing “Mexico” was right in the beginning of the concert we performed at. I could not understand why HBO did not include it when they edited down the footage. Then, there is “Rock And Roll Woman” with Stephen Stills , Dave Crosby and Graham Nash bringing back the classic Buffalo Springfield song—great performances.

The 3 DVD set is entitled “The 25th Anniversary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts” it re-lives the whole celebration of the Rock Hall’s silver anniversary. The 5-hour concert was culled from the two live concerts in New York and for us, what a night to remember. The Imperials Bruce Springsteen

and I were as nervous as could be but once we hit the stage, it all changed. They had a back-screen photo of the guys and me back in the day—it graced the whole stage. Paul Simon introduced us and we sang a cappella.

When we got back to the dressing room, which we shared with John Fogerty, Dion, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Fogerty came up to me saying, “Either you are the craziest guys here or the bravest—no one goes onstage at MSG and sings a cappella but you did.” I didn’t know Billy Joel

what to say, but thank you. Could it be that I take us for granted after all these years? Not really but when you are blessed to sing the way we do, it is a gift we are aware of, but sometimes overlook—even when we are singing at Madison Square Garden.

My only regret at the show was I missed Bruce Springsteen backstage and at the after-party. The guys and I had to be at the airport at 8 a.m. to head to another concert and I had to check out of our hotel. I did catch up with Billy Joel though, who yelled while standing in the backstage hall, “How the hell did I get in the Hall Of Fame before you? You gotta be kidding me. Anthony, you should have been there first and thanks again, ’cause songs like ‘Tears On My Pillow’ let me score as a teen with a bunch of Long Island girls—ah, true romance.”