Week 21 2013 Knowing When to Say When

 Over the years we have been blessed to attend many concerts, from rock and roll to gospel to country western to folk to classical, at venues from school auditoriums to casinos to county fairs.  Over the past week we have attended three separate concerts at a Good Sam rally in Syracuse, New York.  Each one was a different style of music.  Wayne Newton’s was more of an easy listening (I say this tongue in cheek.  You will understand in a moment.).  Reba McEntire entertained us with country western.  The Vogues brought the fifties and sixties back to us.  All three concerts were entertaining.  That is, except for Wayne Newton attempting to sing, well, and talk.

While the lead singer for the Vogues, Bill Burkette, and Wayne Newton are near the same age, only Bill is near the same sound as he was back in the day.  Of the three singers, Wayne Newton seems to have had more cosmetic work in an attempt to avoid aging.  In my humble opinion, Mr. Newton has ruined his voice with the many botox injections he’s received over the years.  As I researched his career, I discovered that he pretty much lost his voice about four years ago.  It is almost painful to listen to him trying to sing when he can barely talk!  He had a wonderful tenor voice that many enjoyed for many years.  It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t seem to realize how much he is embarrassing himself when he attempts to sing on stage, and cannot manage to carry a tune.  Having said that, he is still an entertainer.  When he moved from piano to banjo to guitar to fiddle, he was very impressive.  When he introduced his back up singer and let her sing a solo, it was good.  He has a marvelous orchestra, and his comedy is funny.  I would highly recommend that he change his stage show to a variety performance, showcasing new and upcoming talent.  He could still

a presence and not disappoint his fans.  While some might say his voice is gone from overuse or age, whatever the reason, it’s very important to know when to say when.

For our part, it was good that he was the first concert, because the other two could only be better, and they were!  Even though I am not an avid country western fan, I must admit that Reba put on a fantastic show, sounding every bit as good as she did thirty years ago.  She also showcased her backup singers and band, while providing solid entertainment.  Granted, she is a bit younger than Wayne Newton, but she is no spring chicken.  She has obviously taken steps to protect and enhance her voice.

Many of you have probably not heard of the Vogues.  Or, if you have, you might not remember.  They were a very popular group in the sixties.  Some of their greatest hits were “Turn Around, Look at Me,” “You’re the One,” and “Five O’clock World.”  The only original member of the group was Bill Burkette.  Fortunately, he was the lead singer of the original group.  One of his accompanying vocalists is the son of one of the other original members who is deceased.  While Bill Burkette did not sound as good as he did back in the day, he still sounded good.  He didn’t embarrass himself, or disappoint his fans.  The group was highly entertaining!