Sunday, March 5, 2006 | 7:16 a.m.
Some performers define class.
Darcus, who has performed in Las Vegas lounges for more than 25 years, is one of those entertainers.
She is elegance and grace personified, a charismatic R&B singer who sometimes slips into a jazzy mood as she sits on a stool beside a piano and chats easily with her fans between songs.
"This is what I was meant to do," she said.
Currently, she is doing it at the Plaza's second floor Center Stage Lounge from 7:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
But Darcus, who uses only one name professionally, has performed at every major resort in town since arriving in 1980.
"It doesn't matter where I sing," she said. "Just so long as I sing."
Backed by a trio of first-rate musicians - keyboardist Michael Clark; bassist Elgin Seals and drummer Jess Gopen - Darcus sings with a sincerity that can't be manufactured.
"One of my all-time favorites is Gladys Knight," she said. "Gladys sings from her heart. Also Aretha Franklin. They tell a story. They tell the truth."
Darcus has been telling the truth through music her entire life.
"My mother was an opera singer," she said. "She went to college for it, and I had hands-on training from her from the beginning. As a kid I knew I was gifted to do this - I knew at the time it was what I wanted to do."
Darcus' roots are firmly planted in her native Kansas City, Mo., and her adopted Las Vegas.
She has homes in both places, and when she isn't working here, she is living there.
Her husband, George Gates, remains in Kansas City, where he heads up Gates BBQ, one of the most popular barbecue restaurants in the Midwest. It was founded by his family in 1946.
Traveling back and forth between distant homes is nothing new to Darcus. For many years she split her time between Los Angeles and Kansas City.
While still in high school, she moved to California to live with an aunt.
"She was totally opposite from my mother," Darcus said. "She could care less about music. She thought the most important thing was to get an education so you could support yourself."
But through music, she made friends, and when she entered junior college, she chose that as her major.
"The only thing that interested me was music courses," Darcus said.
She returned to Kansas City to visit her mother and decided to stay.
She re-enrolled in college, but after a semester joined three female singers who quickly became busy in the area.
"I couldn't go to school and do the music," she said. "I had to make a choice."
She chose music.
Eventually, she felt she wanted to expand her horizon and returned to Los Angeles.Then, it was back to Kansas City, where she joined a show band that traveled through the South.
After a year, two brothers in the band bought a nightclub in Kansas City and the group had a permanent home for a while.
"Then the band broke up," Darcus said.
So it was back to Los Angeles, where she got a record deal with RCA.
"Then, just when my album was about to be released, Elvis died," Darcus said.
Presley had recorded for RCA, so all of the company's efforts went to re-releasing his past songs.
"They devoted all of their energy to re-selling his stuff," she said. "Everyone else went on the shelf."
She came to Vegas to visit a friend who was in town from Kansas City.
"While I was here I saw what the town had to offer and I thought to myself, 'I can do this,' " Darcus said.
After some networking she got a gig singing with the Mills Brothers, joined a band and eventually created her own band.
"I started gigging, and I haven't stopped," Darcus said. "I may have a week off once in a while, or a month, but something always comes up."
While many talented musicians here have had to struggle, Darcus has continued to be busy.
"Vegas has been good to me," Darcus said. "I've been down, but I've been able to continuously work."
She has been so busy that she hasn't found it necessary to travel, except to Kansas City.
"I don't want to travel, really," Darcus said. "And I don't have to. I get to entertain people all over the world right here and stay home. I have a life. I get to sing what I want to sing, and I don't have to worry about catching planes."
But she recognizes that she may be part of a dying breed, as live entertainment in lounges declines.
"There is a lot of talent here in Las Vegas that people don't even know about," Darcus said. "By shutting these lounges down, it diminishes your chances to hear these artists."
Cynthia Minx
The noted impersonator of such singers as Tina Turner and Whitney Houston has formed a group - Cynthia Minx and the Doug Jemel Band.
The high-energy ensemble is showcasing at 10 p.m through Monday at the Mandalay Bay's Coral Reef lounge.
"Basically, it is not a band that will perform in too many lounges, though we would welcome the opportunity," said spokesman Carlos Elorza. "We would like to perform on show stages and corporate events."
Minx is backed up by a 10-piece band and three super-energized dancers.
Most of the music is R&B fused with the high energy dance.
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