Friday, Feb. 6, 2004 | 8:29 a.m.
Clint Holmes recently unveiled his new show at Harrah's, an annual event since he debuted there in January 2000.
As in the old show, he still pays homage to his parents and reflects upon the difficulty of growing up a mixed-race child.
Holmes still acknowledges Sammy Davis Jr.
He still sings his one hit record from 30 years ago, "Playground in My Mind," and makes light of the fact that he hasn't yet had a follow-up hit.
And he still demonstrates that he is one of the most talented and versatile performers in Las Vegas, if not the nation.
Holmes and musical director Bill Fayne, backed by some of the best musicians in town, have improved upon perfection.
Among the 11-piece band are guitarist/vocalist Jerry Lopez, who left Holmes for a couple of years and recently rejoined him, and Ronnie Foster, considered to be one of the top organists in his field.
The revamped show provides an extraordinary evening of music, with the tireless Holmes singing songs of his own creation as well as standards, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, pop, Latin and opera.
Somehow he overlooked country, but no one seemed to notice. However, he did crack a country joke -- "People mistake me for Clint Black."
The charismatic Holmes, wearing a white suit reminiscent of John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," is so full of energy and puts so much effort into every note, every chord, that he's already sweating by the end of the first song, in this case one he wrote, "In This Moment."
He followed "Moment" with the Steve Winwood hit "Higher Love" and the much-covered "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?," which Fayne rearranged and infused with sounds of jazz and R&B.
Holmes took a breather, a few minutes to talk to the audience and to compliment his musicians.
"They're integral to everything that goes on here," he said.
And then he expressed his great affection for Sammy Davis Jr.
"I talk about him every night and I will continue to do so," he said. "I worked for years with Bill Cosby, and Bill said to keep the name alive.
"I won't do a show without a tip of the hat to Sammy Davis."
After an abbreviated version of "Mr. Bojangles," Holmes repeated an anecdote about 77-year-old Tony Bennett.
"Kids 25 years old have discovered Tony Bennett," he said. "I asked him why he was forever contemporary, and he said because people want to hear about hope, about positive things."
And then Holmes, who could be a poster child for positive thinking and optimism, sang Bennett's "If I Ruled the World."
Throughout the evening Holmes demonstrated his eclectic talent, singing songs made popular by Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis (a spoof) and Bobby Darin, among others.
He sang a medley of songs from "West Side Story," which was made all the more moving when he explained that he saw the musical as a reflection of his parents' world.
One of the highlights of a show filled with highlights was Fayne and Holmes singing a medley of opera tunes. Both studied opera in college, where they first became acquainted and started a friendship that has lasted 40 years.
Holmes closed the new show with another holdover from the old show -- "The Impossible Dream," from "The Man of La Mancha."
For Holmes, it seems that no dream is impossible.
Except maybe a second hit record.
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