Kippy Lou Brinkman- An Evening with Kippy

DSCN4619 (789x800)This was only $1.00 .  I think the title as well as the cover are what hooked me to buy.050508-Kippy

Kippy Lou Brinkman was a former Miss America contestant from Seattle area, five foot six, with long blond hair . She was named the most talented musician in the 1996 Miss America contest.  I am guessing playing the harp was her talent.  44

She parlayed those talents into a gig at the Dome of the Sea restaurant at the Las Vegas Dunes Hotel. With a catalog ranging from the classics to pop music, she has played with “top flight entertainers” including Frank Sinatra according to one bio. From what I can tell, she now gives harp lessons back in Washington in the Olympia area although it is now Kippy Lou Scott.CCRjjw-WMAA_LXQ

The Dome of the Sea was a gourmet seafood restaurant in the Dunes hotel which opened in 1965.  Carry Grant came to the opening.  It was designed by Milton Schwartz with a sea shell in the middle of the floor surrounded by a figure 8 of water.  Inside the sea shell, sat Kippy.  Apparently it was mesmerizing for customers.  Not sure how long the restaurant lasted but the hotel was closed in 1993.  Two years later, it was imploded.dome-of-the-sea-postcard

I am sure this was an attempt to sell records to the mesmerized eaters who went to the Dome.  It is a collection of popular numbers unaccompanied on the harp.  I imagine this gives a pretty good taste of what Kippy was performing in Vegas.  Standards on the album include “Laura’s Theme”, “Sunrise, Sunset”, and “Yesterday”.  Kippy is well accomplished at her instrument and as a result, it is pretty nifty harp playing.DSCN4620 (781x800)

For a sample, I went with “Never On a Sunday” which I felt best ties in all the elements of harp playing.9858228

I am in a good mood today.  Satisfactory record.

Wayne Newton- Songs for a Merry Christmas

DSCN3152So Thanksgiving is over and Christmas season has officially begun.  I think it unofficially began sometime in October.  Anyway, with the season comes Christmas music and for better or for worse, that is what Donkey-Show is doing this month.  And what a better way to start it off then the man who inspired the name of this blog, Mr Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. This was $3.00.

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Wayne’s Website

This album is pretty standard fare from Wayne.  Well sung songs with his trademark style.  Oddly enough, when I first saw Ferris Bueller, I thought it was a woman singing “Danke Schoen”.

DSCN3153This album has all the classics and is pretty good as far as Christmas albums go.  high points include “Jingle Bell Rock”, “The Christmas Song”, “Rudolph” and “Silent Night, Holy Night”.

LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 28: Entertainer Wayne Newton performs during the opening night of his limited-engagement production "Once Before I Go" at the Tropicana Las Vegas October 28, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Tropicana)

For a sample, I went with “Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow”.