Columnist Joe Delaney: Tracing Easton’s road to musical stardom

Joe Delaney

Friday, Jan. 25, 2002 | 8:46 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at joe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4066.

Sheena Easton, ensconced in the Hilton NightClub for the balance of this year, and Luis Miguel, performing Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center, have something in common ... They share a 1985 Grammy Award for Best Performance By a Duo, with Vocal ... Easton won an earlier Grammy as Best New Artist in 1981.

We met Easton first at the Warwick Hotel in New York City in 1980 ... She was promoting her recording of the title song of the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only," which, with "Morning Train," a single release, earned Easton that first Grammy ... In 1985 she went contemporary with the Prince-written "Sugar Walls."

This led to other best-selling duets with Prince ("U Got the Look") and Kenny Rogers ("We've Got Tonight") ... Easton went on to become the first artist in history to have Top Five hits in all five major Billboard charts -- pop, rhythm & blues, country, adult contemporary and dance ... She appeared in Las Vegas in December at the Riviera in "Colors of Christmas."

Born Sheena Orr in Scotland, she was a student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and sang with a band called Something Else ... The British Broadcasting Co. (BBC) was producing a documentary entitled "The Big Time: Pop Singer," about a relative unknown singer in the process of becoming a major pop star ... The year was 1979.

That first single, "Modern Girl," recorded on Britain's EMI label for the documentary, became an instant hit and led to her debut in this country ... Easton co-starred with David Cassidy in "At the Copa" for a long run at the Rio and spent most of the summer last year in the Hilton's NightClub ... Talented Lon Bronson will be Easton's musical director.

Easton's story is paralleled by that of Marlene Ricci, who starts a long run Tuesday in the recently rechristened Riviera LeBistro Theatre ... Ricci, discovered by Frank Sinatra, had her story documented in "Cinderella at the Palace," appearing with many of Caesars Palace's top stars including Sinatra, Ann-Margret, Paul Anka, Sammy Davis Jr., Tom Jones and Andy Williams.

Weekend wrap-up

Much has been written about the growth of the Nevada Ballet Theatre and the Nevada Opera Theatre and their association with the Rio and Paris Las Vegas, respectively ... Maestro Harold Weller and the Las Vegas Philharmonic deserve equal plaudits for the group's brilliant accompaniment of Andrea Bocelli recently at Mandalay Bay Events Center and subsequent tour with him.

We're looking forward to April 19 when the Philharmonic will share the evening with Peter Schikele, also known as P.D.Q. Bach, at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Ham Hall ... It should also be noted that the Philharmonic has just signed a successor collective bargaining agreement with Musicians Local 369 for two years and also providing tenure for the musicians.

Make sure you have your tickets for the wonderful dance company, Ailey II, part of the "Best of New York Stage" series, 8 p.m. Saturday at Ham Hall ... Then mark your calendar for the Feb. 1 performance of Frederica Von Stade as part of UNLV's Charles Vanda Master Series, also at Ham Hall.

Jazz-wise, we have an added starter: the Joe Darro Trio will be appearing at Nora's on West Flamingo, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. ... Drop by and sit in; no hip-hop or rock 'n' roll, please ... The jazz is also good, Fridays at Pogo's and Mondays with Don Menza at the Riviera ... Support local activities ... See you next Thursday.