Rosemary Clooney Concert: Rita Coolidge

By MARY ANN KEARNS Managing Editor Maysville's Ledger-Independent

Monday, April 25, 2005 8:37 PM EDT

"Higher and Higher" could describe the direction the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival has taken since it's inaugural year.

This year is no exception and the singer whose cover of "Higher and Higher" became a hit in the 1970s will take the stage on Oct. 1 in downtown Maysville as star of the event that will now be known as the Rosemary Clooney Concert.

Grammy Award-winning singer Rita Coolidge has been signed to headline the 2005 concert, according to Abby Dobson of Lundy's Special Events which produces the show each year.

After considering a list of performers, Dobson said Coolidge seemed a natural choice for the concert named for Clooney, Maysville's favorite hometown star. Coolidge is preparing to release a new album June 28 on Concord Records, the last label Clooney recorded for before her death almost three years ago, she said. The album, she said, will include two Clooney standards.

"We're pretty excited," Dobson said. Lundy's expects to receive autographed copies of the album, and they may be offered as prizes by local media outlets, she said.

Coolidge, once married to singer/actor Kris Kristofferson, has performed with the likes of Joe Cocker, Jimmy Buffett, Boz Scaggs and Aaron Neville. Her list of hit singles includes "Higher and Higher," "We're All Alone," "I Don't Want to Talk About It" and "All Time High," from the James Bond Movie, "Octopussy."

After last year's performance by Roberta Flack, Dobson said Lundy's was overwhelmed with the reaction to the evening.

"People were literally dancing in the streets in downtown Maysville," Dobson recalled. "We wondered who could we get that would bring that same enthusiasm to the city."

Dobson said she is confident Coolidge will do just that.

"She was thrilled to be asked to be included," Dobson said. Coolidge, she said, was influenced by Clooney and fellow jazz singer Peggy Lee.

The name change from festival to concert was prompted by the sheer magnitude of the event not conveyed when it was referred to as a festival, Dobson said. The concert and catered dinner, served on china in the middle of the city's street is a one of a kind, she said.

"There is no event in the United States of its kind," Dobson said. "It is unique to Maysville."

The date for this year's concert is a week later than the event is traditionally held, a bow to Coolidge's schedule, Dobson said.

The evening has been titled "Catch the Fever," a tribute to Coolidge's cover of "Fever" and an invitation for guest to enjoy themselves, Dobson said.

"We want this to be a fun, party evening," she said.

There are plans for a special opening act although Dobson said she was not free to disclose that information Monday.

Tickets for the Rosemary Clooney Concert go in sale at 8 a.m. today and prices will remain the same as last year, ranging from $250 per person for the butler-served dinner to $90 each for the Rosie basket. Tickets can be secured by calling Duff Giffen at 606-564-9419 or by calling Lundy's at 800-785-8639.