Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer turning 87
Don Hill beat the odds on Las Vegas entertainer longevity.
The saxophonist helped The Treniers pioneer rock ‘n’ roll in the early 1950s, so he basically spent his adult life in casinos and nightclubs. And yet he still is around to usher in his 87th birthday on Saturday night.
"Somehow or another, I took care of myself better than those other guys," he says. "I don’t drink anymore and I never used the hard stuff at all."
Hill says he first came to town in 1947 with jazzman Gerald Wilson (who also still is around, and recently turned 90). If you can think of any other entertainer who was here in the Bugsy Siegel era and still performs at least occasionally, drop me an e-mail. I’m drawing a blank.
Saturday’s birthday party is an extension of weekly gigs Hill has been playing since July with Jeanne Brei & The Speakeasy Swingers. Not only was Hill able to play two sets with the band each week, "I shoot my age at golf too."
The band cultivated a loyal audience at Bugsy’s Supper Club, only to have the club close just before the birthday party. Brei called around and moved the celebration to the nearby Caylix Jazz Supper Club at 7 p.m. Saturday.
"No one plays like him. He’s just amazing," says Brei, who started singing with the Treniers as a guest before the group disbanded in the wake of frontman Claude Trenier’s 2003 death.
Hill toured with Louis Armstrong before spending the next 55 years with his Alabama State College buddies in The Treniers. The group’s early recordings helped define ’50s rock and cemented the phrase in song titles such as "It Rocks! It Rolls! It Swings!" …
You didn’t really think the Flamingo Las Vegas would do that Donny & Marie building wrap for just six months, did you? The casino made it official last weekend that the contract for the strong-selling Osmond siblings has been extended until Oct. 15, 2010.
However, their workload is lighter. The two have cut their Saturday matinee and now will do five weekly shows instead of six over the course of 44 weeks each year. Producer Chip Lightman says meet-and-greets after the 4 p.m. matinee were running too close to the start time of the 7:30 evening show. …
Tom Jones fans are excited about the singer’s return to the MGM Grand today through Nov. 12. His show is said to include four or five songs from his new album, "24 Hours," the first U.S. live performances of any of them.
The album doesn’t come out until Nov. 25, but song samples that have turned up on the Internet are in the ’60s-retro vein of Amy Winehouse, a full-circle loop back to her influences. Bono and The Edge guest on the album that is Jones’ first U.S. release in 15 years. …
Comedian George Wallace has run a "for president" ad campaign in the past, and does a comic routine on what he would do as chief executive. But now he’s settling for a liberal promotion. Anyone who turns in their "I Voted" sticker at the Flamingo box office gets a free ticket to one of his shows between now and Nov. 11. This isn’t a two-for-one; if a couple shows up with two stickers, they get two tickets. A record turnout might not leave any room for the paying customers. …
"Criss Angel Believe" has its big party-night premiere tomorrow. The show was delayed from Sept. 12, but you still wonder if they planned it this way all along, given the Harry Houdini references in the title and the show itself. Houdini died on Halloween day in 1926 and it’s said he promised his wife that if he could make contact from the great beyond, "believe" would be part of his coded message.
Another great believer was Linus, the sage Peanuts character who spent each year in a pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. So it goes with magician Dixie Dooley, who is up to Year 24 in his annual seance to chat up Houdini. This year it’s a 1:30 p.m. event at the Royal Resort, which includes a look at Dooley’s Houdini memorabilia and a demonstration of phony medium techniques.
Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.
