Kaye said the trio, which included sister Mary Kaye (who died in February) and Frank Ross (who died in 1995), was the first true lounge act on the Strip.

Popular trio of the '50s and '60s left its mark on Las Vegas entertainment history

By LEN BUTCHER

I get a lot of e-mails from readers of this column who like when I write about some of the things that used to go on in our town, or the entertainers who performed here in what many locals call "the good old days." I happened to be talking to a friend of mine the other day, doing a bit of reminiscing, and the Mary Kaye Trio came up.

For those of you not familiar with the name, the Mary Kaye Trio was one of the hottest singing groups in the '50s and '60s, cutting some 15 albums and pulling down a cool million bucks a year. A lot of moolah in those days. (Notice how I use the right lingo -- moolah -- for that period. Clever, don't you think?) Okay, enough self-congratulations, Lenny, get on with the story.

Norman Kaye, who built a very successful real estate business in our town, remembers that they were "the first group to go from the lounge to the main room at the old Last Frontier. Evelyn Farney was the tap dancer, and there were separate billings for Herb Shriner and us."

The trio worked with all the major stars, including a young Ronald Reagan, who Norman says "just moved around with a couple of showgirls." He also remembers a night in 1957 when the great opera singer Mario Lanza couldn't show. "I could sing just like him, so I did, with the curtain down. The song was 'Be My Love', and everybody thought it was him. We were able to pull it off."

Norman and Mary Kaye started their singing careers at a very early age in Hawaii, where their father, Johnny Kaaihue, put them in the carnival circuit, performing 10 shows a day. Mary tells me her dad was the son of Prince Kuhio and was called Johnny Ukulele after the instrument he not only played, but popularized as well.

Mary actually made her debut at age 3, in a grass skirt at a carnival in St. Louis, while Norman, aged 6, strummed the ukulele. Their dad acted as the barker. Quite a life for a couple of young kids. At that time, they were known as the Kaiihue Trio, with their dad making up the threesome. They then became the Royal Hawaiians.

When Norman joined the army in 1943, an accordionist from Cleveland, Biagio Salvatore Rissario Bologna, took his place, later changing his name to Frank Ross. Two years later, Norman's stint ended and he rejoined the trio. They made a winning combination. Norman had this great baritone voice and played the trombone, vibraharp, piano, bass, guitar, alto horn and ukulele.

Mary was a virtuoso on the Spanish guitar and a singer with her own very distinct style, while Frankie provided the comic relief and was a master on the accordion. He could also hold his own in the singing department. As Mary says, "Frankie was the most beautiful ad-libber in the world, but he became one of the best part-singers in the world as well."

So in 1949, they found themselves playing the Strip at the Last Frontier, in the days when the Strip was just starting to come into its own, with headliners like Sophie Tucker, Joe E. Lewis and Edgar Bergen. And who was playing conga drums in the lounge? None other than Sammy Davis Jr.

While performing in the main showroom, the trio still did a few lounge shows in the early morning hours, and the casinos, which were kinda quiet during that period, soon picked up, much to the delight of the owners. For almost 20 years, the Mary Kaye Trio was a household name, especially in this town.

Aside from their 15 albums, they played hundreds of nightclubs around the country and the world. They followed Ethel Merman into the Talk of the Town in London; played La Vie En Rose in New York with Harry Belafonte and Buddy Hackett; and filled in for Perry Como on his TV show. Their hits included "Besame Mucho", "Get Happy", "They Didn't Believe Me", "Little Girl Blue", "I'll Remember April", "My Funny Valentine" and "April in Paris".

In 1961, they were paid the princely sum of $250,000 for a 22-week gig at the Sahara, and by 1966 the trio was earning a million dollars a year. It was also the year they ended their career as a trio, playing to a celebrity-packed house at the Tropicana. The main reason was that Norman had too many other business interests. It marked the end of an era for Las Vegas entertainment.

Recently, chatting in the Las Vegas Hilton coffee shop, Norman had this to say. "If you've got the talent and get lucky, you can make a buck. There are many variations on the road to success. Music is emotional. It is part of your soul." To musical wannabes, he gives this advice: "Try your wares on the local folks, where you're from. If you hone your skills to where everyone thinks you're sensational, do a three or four-minute videotape of your act. Then, in your most pretentious packaging, send them to people who might help." Good advice, especially from someone who's been there and succeeded.

The poet laureate of Nevada, a Las Vegas lounge legend who has held the post for nearly 40 years, is fighting an attempt to replace him with a "real poet". Norman Kaye, 82, who has written songs for Perry Como, Johnny Mathis and Vicky Carr, admits he has never published a poem. But he says the seven state governors he has served never asked him to write "diddly doo".   Norman Kaye: headlined with Sammy Davis Jr The author of more than 100 songs says he is baffled by the state's move to recruit a new laureate and kick him upstairs to become the poet laureate emeritus. He also claims he was given no notice that the Nevada Arts Council was advertising the position he holds. "It was a shock to me," said Mr Kaye, who performed in the 1950s and '60s with his sister in the Mary Kaye Trio, recording 13 albums and headlining alongside acts such as Sammy Davis Jr. "I feel I have fulfilled my obligations, I've earned the job. I should be allowed to continue." The Arts Council denies it is trying to "fire" Mr Kaye and says he was told of the plan. Although Nevada is known more for its casinos and accompanying entertainment than its culture, the council wants to raise the profile of poetry and literature by making the role of poet laureate "more active and visible". advertisement It issued a press release inviting nominations for the role, a three-year position that will seek "to promote poetry as both an art form and a means of inspirational public commentary". But the release omitted the fact Nevada already has a poet laureate. Susan Boskoff, executive director of the Arts Council, said few people in Nevada knew Mr Kaye was their poet laureate. She said she was not aware of any work he had done on behalf of the state's governors. "But we honour the commitment Norman Kaye has given to Nevada and we want to keep him among the family of writers." Shaun Griffin, a council member and poet, said the aim was to include Mr Kaye, whom he described as being known primarily as a "songwriter and lyricist". The deadline for nominations to the post was Tuesday. A short-list will be drawn up before the state's current governor, Kenny Guinn, selects his poet laureate in January. But Mr Kaye, a dapper man with a winning smile and dazzling Rolex, hopes the governor will keep him in the role. Mr Kaye said he once planned to publish a book of poems but abandoned the project. Of the poems he has written, his favourite is one he calls his Mother's Day poem or We Are One. He said: "I may not have published any poems but my songs are poetry."