Columnist Joe Delaney: Anka has done it his way for other musical greats

Joe Delaney

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 10:01 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@lasvegassun.com

Quintessential performer, singer, songwriter, composer, arranger and best-selling recording artist Paul Anka has amassed a most impressive body of work in four-plus decades. ... His second of two weekends at the Mirage, while Siegfried & Roy are on hiatus, ends Saturday. ... Each Anka performance is a complete musical and emotional experience.

Anka's latest CD, "A Body Of Work," includes duets with Patti LaBelle, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra and Anka's daughter, Anthea. ... The duet with Sinatra on "My Way" is the CD's high point.

While on vacation in France with his wife, Anne, Paul heard a French pop tune entitled "As Usual." ... Detouring to Paris, he was able to purchase the song from the writer, then created a new lyric for Sinatra who recorded "My Way" on Reprise, Dec. 30, 1968. ... Sinatra's voice was actually taken from that original Reprise Records recording.

How it was done

Using current digital technology, Anka in a studio was able to isolate Sinatra's voice, then re-record it with the original musical arrangement, add his voice, making it a duet. ... You will hear an audio version of the duet in Anka's current show, along with a priceless piece of video footage with the late Sammy Davis Jr., of another song redone as a duet.

"She's a Lady," written by Anka and a huge hit for Tom Jones, was recorded recently, as was "You Are My Destiny," with Patti LaBelle. ... Knowing Paul, singing with Anthea had to be the most satisfying song on the entire CD.

Anka and I go back to his New York debut in the mid-1950s. ... A profile in depth with him, videotaped for KLVX Channel 10, appeared on PBS nationally and was sent to the media throughout the United States. ... Always the perfectionist, always current, Anka stands alone in his genre today.

Rambling around

Chita Rivera fans have only 10 more days to catch her starring in "Chicago," a hit at Mandalay Bay. ... Marilu Henner will succeed Rivera as Roxie Hart on July 6. ... Rivera will join the long-running London company. ... Henner, who has starred in the show on Broadway, will add still another dimension. ... "Chicago" continues here into 2000.

Lance Burton's good deeds in the Las Vegas community, especially with the Shriners and Variety Club helping local disadvantaged children, are as impressive as his Monte Carlo Lance Burton Theatre crowd counts, plus the success of his annual television specials.

David Copperfield starts a three-week stand in Caesars' Circus Maximus tonight, through July 18. ... Copperfield's Project Magic, founded in 1982, helps disabled patients develop motor skills through sleight-of-hand. ... It has been implemented in more than 1,000 hospitals in 30 countries.

Feeling good

Picking up a copy of the international edition of USA Today in Europe and seeing a political cartoon by the Sun's Mike Smith gives one a nice sense of pride and belonging when far from home. ... Watching Andre Agassi come back from two sets down in the French Open to win the final a couple of Sundays ago while in Ireland was an equally good feeling.

Agassi's fifth annual Grand Slam for Children Concert, on Sept. 25 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, will feature Elton John, Gloria Estefan, LeAnn Rimes and Luther Vandross, plus David Foster as musical director. ... The first four concerts have raised more than $10 million.

Congrats, Marta Ronca, a very special person, the Stardust's director of advertising, named Mentor of the Year by the UNLV College of Hotel Administration. ... Ronca was chosen from a field of 323 mentors representing more than 70 hotels and companies in the area.

More congrats

Congrats as well to master impressionist Rich Little, the "t'rrific" Treniers and gambler Pug Pearson, the latest inductees into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame at the Tropicana; three excellent selections. ... We were away on June 3 when the event was held. ... The LV Tejano Super Weekend takes place this weekend at Bally's.

Jazz greats Carl Fontana and Don Menza will be special guest artists, June 27 through July 2, at CCSN's Summer Jazz Combo Camp. ... Call Brigitte at 651-4000 for details. ... Final weekend for "Yahuti's Harmonica," an Asylum production at the Winchester Center. ... Have you given to the Sun Summer Camp Fund? ... Please. ... See you next Thursday.