On The Road

Tony Orlando

• Bob "Rosie" Rozario (who had been Bobby Darin's conductor, as well) called me to join Tony Orlando's new act because of the job I did when I subbed for Ed Greene on the live taping of a Tony Orlando & Dawn Show at CBS.
• Musicians
  • Bob Rozario - piano, conductor
    
  • Buck Clarke - percussion (Wash DC)
    
  • Bob "Bogie" Bohinc - guitars (Cleveland)
    
  • Jose Marino - bass (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
    
  • Michael Sherwood - keyboards
    
  • 4 singers

  Rosie quit to do the Donny & Marie television show... and after a failed attempt or two to find a "real" conductor Tony hired:

  Reg Powell - conductor/keyboards, an Englishman who (was at the time and still) is a great player and absolutely HILARIOUS to boot!!!

• Tony Orlando's First (Television) Special from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel/Casino in Lake Tahoe (October 24, 1978) -- This video is old and several generations down in the "copy chain" and, as a consequence is NOT great quality but it does show how hard we ALL worked to entertain an audience!!
  Tony Orlando's First Special
• Tony Performed in "Star" Showrooms at the following:
  The Riviera Hotel - Las Vegas -- The Dick Palombi Orchestra, Clyde Duel - drums
  The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel - Las Vegas
  The MGM Grand Hotel - Las Vegas - Tommy Check - drums
  Sahara Tahoe - Lake Tahoe
  Harrah's Tahoe - Lake Tahoe
  Harrah's Reno - Reno
  Boardwalk Regency - Atlantic City
• He also performed at:
  Westbury Music Fair - Westbury, NY
  Valley Forge Music Theater - Valley Forge, PA
  Front Row Theater - Cleveland, OH
• Tony Orlando at the Las Vegas Hilton -- August 1980 -- Audio Files
  Recorded live from the house mixing board

• Engelbert's conductor, Jeff Sturges (NTSU alum) had been trying to hire me for some time. Besides the concert I played with Jeff at NTSU I had recorded "After the Lovin'" for Enge's appearance on the Sonny & Cher Show and he liked it!
• Tony decided to take some time off
• I went to work with Engelbert
• On Tour:
  MGM Grand Hotel - Las Vegas  ( see drums )
  Tour of Canada
• Engelbert was in a period of good health -- dieting, working out, abstaining -- in a VERY good mood.
• Englebert was the LOUDEST act I ever played... I lost more that 30 pounds working for him!!! We got word one night at the MGM Grand that OSHA was at Caesar's Palace during Cher's first show and had shut the show down because it was too loud... apparently they were coming across the street to the Grand for our second show... we turned it down... and we heard nothing from OSHA... it lasted about a day and the volume went back though the ceiling!!

• I knew the guys in Anka's rhythm section through Reg Powell, Tony Orlando's conductor
• First rehearsals were at Anka's house in Carmel -- full of fabulous art!
• The Band:
  Frank Leone - conductor, piano
  Ray Tini - bass
  Ron Feuer - keyboards
  Joe DiBlasi - guitars
  Tom Roady - percussion
  Carl Fontana - Trombone -- Obituary
  Don Costa - (Sinatra's) Chief Arranger
• On Tour:
  Caesar's Palace Hotel - Las Vegas
  Trip to Hanover, Germany
  Westbury Music Fair - Westbury, NY

• Jules Chaiken, Burt's contractor, called and hired me officially, but not without some negotiation about the $$$
• Burt sent me the book (the drum charts) and about a dozen albums to use to prepare
• The first engagement was a concert with the Houston Symphony. There were nine intense hours of rehearsal... My brother Steve came by...
• I worked with Burt three times at the MGM Grand... Tony Newley (2x's) (John "Spoons" Spooner, drummer) and Racquel Welsh (Tommy Check, MGM house drummer) opened for Burt (both GREAT drummers!)
• The music enterage typically included:
  Warren Luening - trumpet
  Bill Pittman - acoustic and electric guitars
  Charlie Chiorenza - acoustic and electric guitars
  Don Bagley - bass
  Sally Stevens - vocals
  Marti McCall - vocals
  Melissa MacKay - vocals
• Burt Bacharach at the MGM Grand Summer 1977 -- Audio Files
  Recorded live from the house mixing board
• Tour of Venezuela - Brazil - Argentina
  The Ininerary

  The Musicians:
  Richard Kaufmann - rehearsal conductor
  John Thomas - trumpet
  John Phillips - saxophones and flute
  Bill Pittman - acoustic and electric guitars
  Charlie Chiorenza - acoustic and electric guitars
  Don Bagley - bass
  Sally Stevens - vocals

  This was a tough tour... we worked almost every day and most of those days were all-day affairs... travel, rehearsals and 2 shows... sometimes the shows were in 2 different venues and we were schlepping our own gear!! In the middle of all this we have a "once in a lifetime' experience...

  John Thomas, John Philips, and I were READY to go when we got to Rio and had our FIRST night off. I had a list of night clubs where friends of Jose Marino, my Brazilian bass player partner from Tony Orlando's rhythm section, were playing. The Hotel Nacional concierge got us an English-speaking cab driver... the guy figured out immediately that we were U.S. musicians and told us it was too early to go to the clubs Jose had recommended... he wanted to take us to his cousin's place on the beach (the ole "screw the tourista" routine, we thought). OK... for a few minutes... what can it hurt???

  We left Chiko's (his cousin's fabulous bar and restaurant on Lagoa, Avenida Epit?cio Pessoa, 1560) 5 hours later and completely missed Jose's recommendations!!! Chico's bar featured two alternating unbelievable pianist/singer duos doing the most beautiful Brazilian music... Chico came over and introduced himself -- drinks were on the house... he invited the whole entourage back the next night after the show for dinner... we ALL (including Burt) showed up the next night for the FREE dinner -- filets that were chateaubriands, lobsters that were enormous... and Burt and some of the others played (no drums there)... FREE drinks for all... Chiko had a photographer there and a small shot of him with Burt appeared on the front page of the newspaper the next day. We were all invited back as often as we could make it and some of us often did!!

• Dallas Symphony Orchestra - Got to hang with friends from Dallas during this weekend...
• Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra - Ernie had his right index finger slammed in a car door at the airport... OUCH!!!
• Louisville Symphony Orchestra - Met cousins Mary Ellen and Joe Weaver and Dr. and Mrs. Bob Carnighan for dinner and the concert!
• Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
• Minnesota Orchestra
• Hartford Symphony
• Yale University (New Haven)
• Rhythm section included:
  Freddie Crane - piano
  Ross Tomkins - piano
  Bob Cranshaw - bass
  Ernie Chapman - bass
  Bobby Thomas - guitar
  John Gates - drums

• Left cold and icy Chicago to go on thr road with Lola Falana who I had played for at The O'Hare Hyatt House's Blue Max Showroom.
• Lola rehearsed for 3 weeks in West Hollywood on La Cienega prior to going on tour.
• I stayed just up the street at the Tropicana Motel (rock musician's hangout) and ate at Dukes at the Tropicana -- OUTRAGEOUS!!
• Alexander Hamilton - piano, conductor
• D'Vaughn Pershing - rehearsal pianist, music co-ordinator
• Lester Wilson - coreographer
• Michael Peters - dance captain
• On Tour:
  Playboy Great Gorge Hotel, NJ
  Sahara Tahoe Hotel
  MGM Grand Hotel -- 4 weeks - Tommy Johnson Orchestra, Tommy Check - house drummer!

• Rita Moreno opened for Tony Orlando several times at the Riviera
• Her conductor was George Gaffney, an old friend from Chicago (I recently learned that George Gaffney has passed away)
• I played Rita's act when she appeared with Tony... great fun with a clicktrack!!
• Worked for Rita at Harrah's Tahoe when she opened for Sammy Davis Jr.
• Rita's new solo album with George Gaffney playing/writing/conducting
• Rita Moreno at the Riviera, April 4, 1979 -- Audio Files
  Recorded live from the house mixing board, George Gaffney, Conducting

• Randy Waldman, whom I had worked with at The Palmer House in Chicago was conducting for Minnie Ripperton
• He called me to sub for her regular drummer... his wife was having a baby...
• We played two weeks at the Aladdin Hotel in Vegas as the opening act for Blood Sweat & Tears... Bobby Economo was playing drums for the "Sweats."
• Minnie sang great... the gig was fun!!

• Marilyn Maye... great jazz singer
• Mark Franklin, Dallas pianist, who had been her conductor and collaborator for years recommended me
• A gig in town!! -- Studio One, the cabaret room of a disco in West Los Angeles
• First gig with percussionist Danny Greco