Last night, my husband and I had the privilege of hearing Wayne Newton in concert at Hard Rock’s ” The Joint”, near Tulsa. From the start we were impressed with the excellent customer service from the employees and servers….and it just got better. If you’ve never been to a concert at The Joint, it is awesome. No matter where you sit, they are perfect seats. A very comfortable, intimate setting. On stage was an orchestra with an amazing sound and two well rehearsed backup singers that could have stolen the show.( The majority of the orchestra had been pulled from Oklahoma!) Finally, Wayne Newton made his stage appearance. He was funny, adorable and his goal was to give the audience his all. And he proceeded to do just that.
At one point, my guess was this was strategically placed so that his voice could rest a bit, a big screen dropped down from the ceiling. He shared on this screen “days gone by” with clips from “The Lucy Show”, “The Dean Martin Show”, and even his singing on the White House Mall in a rain storm. As I was trying to take all of this in, suddenly the screen split, and he was singing and dancing a duet with the late Sammy Davis, Jr. It gave me chills. So much history was on that stage. My mind kept drifting back to my younger days where I grew up listening to these glorious tunes. How can music make you homesick. I don’t know, but it did.
Wayne Newton is definitely a showman. He made the decision when he was just four years old that THIS was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Though his voice is weaker now, he is still quite the entertainer, and we left wanting to hear more. (I kept waiting for an encore! But when the orchestra started leaving too, and the place was practically empty, hubby finally convinced me it just wasn’t gonna happen.)
Just before he sang his last medley “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah”, he left us with a couple of lines he’d written. He said he might just turn them into a song one day,…” I can’t promise I’ll love you for the rest of your life. But I promise I’ll love you for the rest of mine.” Sweet, sweet Wayne. Thanks for an awesome night.
stuff i tell my sister 
Wish I could have been there. Sounds like it was an awesome night!
It was a real treat I would loved to have shared with ALL!
Yay! Sounds like you enjoyed a great evening of entertainment, glad you both got to go.
And thank you for sharing this-:)
♥♥♥
This brought back lots of nostalgic memories. So glad I happened upon your site and thank you for stopping by mine. 🙂
Me too! I look forward to reading more!!! 🙂
very nice
thanks so much ♥
Sounds like quite a night and glad that you got to go. Did he sing “Daddy don’t you walk too fast” ? Thanks for visiting my blog and following. Appreciate it!
Yes he did! As he would begin each song….the crowd (self included) would “awwwww”. He really touched our hearts. Appreciate your visit! 🙂 paula
That is great. Always loved that song. Also Dunkenshein which I probably spelled bad 🙂 Kathy
I have no idea how to spell it…Or even say it right for that matter! lol! But he sure pulls it all together….
Lucky you to hear Wayne Newton! It’s almost an eerie feeling when I hear someone live that I’ve only seen on TV or heard on the radio. Thanks for sharing your impressions! http://ohtheplaceswesee.com
And, by the way, thanks so very much for following my blog!
Wayne Newton was awesome. And yes….I felt that feeling!
I look forward to following you and knowing you better! Paula ♥
Sounds like you had a great time. Wish I had been there! Thanks for dropping by and for following my blog. Yours is awesome too.
I look forward to the new year and your blog!
While I haven’t seen Wayne Newton perform, we did recently see Paul McCartney and the background screen show was truly amazing…It’s almost like seeing two great shows
It really is! I’m betting he was amazing, too!
Absolutely, once in a lifetime…You’re never too old for rock N roll.
Amen to that!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
“TIL DEATH DO US PART…”
He’s a great inspiration. He will be 72 this year, so it’s great to see he’s still going strong. My most memorable concert was seeing Sammy Davis Jr, Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra together on stage in Melbourne, Australia, in 1988. It was absurdly expensive, and I bought tickets for my parents, also, who flew over from New Zealand, but I’m so glad I did.
Now that would have been every dime spent! ♥
Your post reminded me of a plane ride many many years ago when I found myself sitting next to Wayne Newton and his brother Jerry. I think they were a duo act then. I Seem to recall they were from Roanoke, Virginia which would jibe with the plane ride. I was either going to or coming back from some news assignment. Delightful guys. Some years later in the 70’s. the 727 I was riding to LAX had a problem and we put down in Las Vegas. I saw Newton’s Show that night. Terrific performance. I always wondered what happened to Jerry?
Wow….how fortunate for you!! (not the plane problem….mind you 🙂 ) He warmed our hearts that evening. Truly loved his audience. Good question on his brother, though. Will have to look that one up.
I learned to parallel park in Wayne Newton’s driveway. My DE teacher knew him and he let him bring students out to the ranch to practice driving there. My grandfather upholstered his horse trailers and Wayne always comped him whenever he wanted to take someone out to see his show. His music wasn’t really my thing – but he really did put on a show. I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t love seeing him in person.
Way COOL, Lorri! He seemed like such a kind person. I grew up listening to Lawrence Welk….I adore his style of music as it takes me back….but then I guess I like most styles of music. Have a great weekend and brace for what we hope is “the last winter storm!”