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The above photo was taken on September 25th in Maysville, Kentucky
at the
"Rosemary Clooney Music Festival."
Ms. Clooney is making her way into her makeshift dressing room set
up behind the stage.
To the left is a picture of Rosemary talking to her pianist
before her first number. She has a wonderful relationship with
her musicians, and seems to trust them implicitally,
it was so refreshing to hear her ask during
the instrumental bridges, "is this two bars or three," or
"how long is this, 8 bars," or "double ending guys."
That's her brother Nick, leaving my table before Dinner. He is
incredibily personalbe and friendly. He & his family were so
gracious to everyone. His relationship with Rosemary is an obviously
very close one. The looks and the gestures exchanged between them,
speak volumes! At times it was as if Nick was saying to her "Good
One Sis," "You nailed that one!" You wouldn't think
at this stage in her spectacular career she would need that kind of
affirmation, but it seemed to matter much to her, coming from her
"ham" of a brother.
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This is about midway through the concert.
The angels were with me, because as you can see I had a wonderful
vantage point.
It was as if she was singing to me in my living room.
Some of the songs she sang were, Secret of Life, Hey There, a
little bit of Come-on-a-my-house,
October Goes, Funny Face, Thanks for the Memories,
We're in the Money (for her nephew George) and Sweet Kentucky Ham.
This is the view from the stage. The table directly in front was
where the Governor of Kentucky sat, and I believe Miss America's
parents. The table to the left is where Nick & Nina Clooney sat,
along with their daughter Ada and her husband. The gentleman in the
coat with his back to me is the Mayor of Maysville. The third person
from the left is Nick Clooney with a throng of fans standing in line
to speak with him and get his autograph. The tan colored building is
actually the Russell Theater. The stage was set up right in the
center of the intersection of Market and Third Streets, and from Ms.
Clooney's vantage point on stage, she saw fans as far down the street
as she could see.
The picture below on the left was taken during Ms. Clooney's last song of the evening, "Our Love is Here to Stay." This was after she was presented with the plaque that you see in the forefront of the picture. It is a stone or ceremaic replica of the front of the Russell Theater which the festival's proceeds will go to restore. The city also commissioned a young artist to do a bust of Rosemary. It was extraordinary and resembled the very young Rosemary, much as she looks on the cover of her new book.
The picture on the right was taken after Ms. Clooney received her standing ovation. In typical fashion, Dante came on stage to escort her off the stage after she was finished, but before he did that he gave her a kiss and the look between them was adorable, he seemed to be so incredibily pleased for her, and proud of her.
Nick when he first arrived to the concert area!!