The friendship of Bobby and Wayne Newton is widely known. Bobby discovered Wayne and got him his start in the recording business. Wayne wrote in his autobiography, Once Before I Go that "Bobby was absolutely like the older brother I had always wanted." He also said of Bobby that he "represented to me the epitome of what I considered a recording artist to be...he was the most consummate talent I had ever known."
Below are the liner notes that appeared on the back of one of Wayne's first albums, Wayne Newton in Person,
that were written by Bobby.
Wayne Newton is Big Time. That's what
critics said about his opening night at
Hollywood's Entertainment testing ground,
the Crescendo. They gave him unqualified
raves. Here in this album is Wayne Newton
"Live" at the Crescendo just nine nights
after that smash opening performance.
Wayne is the young man from Phoenix,
Arizona, whose standout talents caused
Jackie Gleason to say: "For the love of
Mike, don't go on any other show before
you go on mine." Jackie signed him up
for television and got him a contract for
personal appearances at New York's
Copacabana, and as soon as I heard
Wayne, I signed him for recordings.
The reasons for our excitement are all
in this album, beginning with the first note of Wayne's very first song.
He opens with "Swanee." He doesn't sound like Jolson, and
he doesn't sound like Garland. He does
sound like Wayne Newton and he makes
a song his with the same kind of class that
made those singers great.
Wayne has the power and sensitivity and
a style that is his alone. An entertainer since
he was 13, he also has an instinctive feeling
for show business: The line-up of songs he
sings here may well be the greatest group
of audience pleasers ever assembled for a
single performance. After the rousing
"Swanee" comes a beautiful "I Wish You Love",
a rich "What Kind of Fool Am I?", a swinging
"Mack the Knife," a rollicking "Who Can I
Count On?" and Wayne is just warming up.
But these are surefire only if believed.
And, because Wayne believes them, his
audiences do, too.
He also sings his famous "Danke Schoen,"
the song that put him on the map and
brought club owners bidding for appearances.
Nowadays managers are usually careful to
sign the young "flash-in-the-pan" performer
for a one-shot date, since popularity can be
gone by the next week. In Wayne's case,
however, any who did were right back
waving long-term contracts, because all
Wayne's performances have been smash
successes just like his Hollywood stay.
Wayne Newton at the Crescendo gave
his audiences a show that was pure
showmanship--the bright, happy
performances of a talented young man who
has been making quite a name for himself.
You'll hear how he did it in this recording.
And you're going to be hearing a lot about
Wayne Newton from now on. He's going
to be one of the top singers of our time.
