Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 36

LUY WEEKLY SEaiON OF THE NEVADA STATE JOURNAL RENO EVENING GAZETTE, Vol. 18, No. 51, May 10, 1974 Lettermen at Tahoe Bald paunchy? Olfl' Not hardly The Lettermen is a terrible name," admits Tony Butala, for 1 3 years a member of the group. "The name is the last vestige of the high school groupsMhe Four Freshmen, the Fowbreps The Graduates, Danny and the Juniors1, Jhe Sophomores, We were the last of that type to make it." See LETTERMEN, page 2 i rf j-igl in i mi if riaa riai First it's Elvis, then Isaac, Diana, Johnny, Buddy, Ray Stevens at the Nugget Streaking lasted long enough to give Ray a hit inside: Jaye P. Morgan why she stopped smoking and drinking, started fasting and meditation on page 4.

There's also an interview with a man who blew a lady off a piano, and more news and pictures of your favorite entertainers. The summer entertainment season at the Sahara Tahoe promises to be a sizzler in '74. Heating things up to begin with will be the King Elvis. A legend in his own time, Elvis created incomparable excitement every place he visits. Reservations for his 11 day engagement have already been taken but Elvis lovers can still hope for cancellations.

Following Elvis will be the Jackson Five, one of the most popular weekend attractions in the Spring. Opening June 3 is the multi-talented 5th Dimension who will give way to one of America's most popular soul acts, The Isaac Hayes Movement on June 14. June 22 through July 4 will feature the electric Diana Ross who usually packs each show with old from her days with the Supremes as well as up to te numbers and songs she herself made famous. Americana, is part and parcel of every Johnny Cash performance, July 5-11. Cash, the singing story teller tells it like it is, whether it's songs of the soil, railroads, prisons or love.

Comic Buddy Hackett appears for one week, July 12-18 followed by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme for another week through July 28. One of England's most famous inports, Tom Jones, storms the Tahoe beaches for two weeks through Aug. 11 and Karen and Richard Carpenter provide a change of pace, through Aug. 25. A Sahara Tahoe favorite, Engelbert Humperdinck holds his own through Sept.

8 and Helen Reddy, who is becoming a Sahara. Tahoe favorite with two weekend engagements already this year, appears through Sept. 22. Ray Stevens, who is streaking to the number one position on the record charts via his latest single, "The Streak," is headlining in the Circus Room at John Ascuaga's Nugget. In this premier engagement in the Reno area he includes, to excellent audience response, his novelty rendering of "The Streak," which is rapidly climbing toward the top spot on Billboard's "Hot Country Singles" chart.

Sharing the stage with Stevens is the Mike Curb Congregation, a mixed ensemble of singers and dancers who appeared at the Nugget last year with Liberace. In the music business, Stevens is "unreal." He composes his own music, arranges the orchestrations, produces the recording sessions, and sings every part with results such as "Ahab the Arab," "Mr. Businessman," "Unwind," Is Beautiful," and "Nashville." He writes comedy songs, ballads, and songs of social comment with such equal talent that his new material is always anticipated with intense curiosity by his avid fans. Besides his own recording and producing, Ray currently has a busy concert schedule ahead and has recently written the score for Alan Funt's Movie of the Week, "Remember Marriage," due to be seen on TV this fall. He will also make his acting debut in the film, playing the role of a preacher.

Ray is now avidly working on polishing up his score for a musical based on the life of Johnny Appleseed and the prospects seem very optimistic for a Broadway opening in the spring. I xv ffii Ray Stevens Jaye P. Morgan.