'Rosemary weather' was made for Linda

by Nick Clooney, Cincinnati Post, September 24, 2003

A few thoughts on this year's Rosemary Clooney Festival before the musical notes fade in to the ether forever.

• Saturday was, as you'll recall, a glorious day, one of the nicest of the year. Weather is very important to an outdoor event, and each of the five festivals, dating to 1999, has seen the same cloudless skies. Those connected to the festival have taken to calling it "Rosemary weather."

• The morning session with Kathryn Crosby, Bing's widow, and film archivist Bob DeFlores was a resounding success. We saw clips from movies and television that reminded us why Rosemary and our sister Betty, too, were such great successes. We also saw how connected Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were to Rosemary's career.

• Mr. DeFlores reminded me of a story I had forgotten. Rosemary, Bing and Frank had been hired to do a TV special, to introduce Ford's brand new entry -- the Edsel. The show was great fun and Bob brought a lengthy clip of the three stars doing an intricate medley. What we did not see was that, after the show, each principal was given an Edsel to drive for a year. Rosemary went to her new car and reached for the door handle which came off in her hand! She turned to the Ford representative, held up the handle and said, "Hey, mister, do you want to tell me again about your new car?"

• Linda was in great voice and made the excellent decision to sing selections from her inspired collaboration with arranger Nelson Riddle. They made three albums together in the 1980s. They consisted of classic popular songs. Of course, Rosemary had close connections with Nelson as well, a fact pointed out with poignancy Saturday night by Rosemary's daughter Monsita Botwick, her daughter-in-law Debby Boone and Nelson's daughter, the fortuitously named Rosemary Riddle.

• After introducing Linda Ronstadt, I went out into the audience to listen. I was about halfway back among the tables on Third Street when Linda hit the spectacular octave change on the song "What's New" with full voice. Among the concert goers around me, there was an audible intake of breath. Hearing Miss Ronstadt in person, pinning listeners to the backs of their chairs, is quite an experience.

• A surprise hit of the evening was the Kentucky Jazz Band's salute to Tony Pastor and the Clooney Sisters from the late 1940s. Leader Dick Domek and his colleagues transcribed the half-century-old arrangements and made them sound fresh. But what really turned the audience on was the performance of two beautiful young singers, blond Jennifer Zehnder as Rosemary and brunette Theresa Thompson as Betty, as well as Brian Gill taking on the duties of Tony Pastor, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Their efforts earned a standing ovation.

• The construction work on Market Street did not prove to be a hindrance to the festival logistics. One week ago, I would have bet against that.

• A feature of both the morning show at the Opera Theater and the evening show outdoors was a warm reception for Rosemary's oldest friend, Blanche Chambers, who used to dance while Rosemary sang when they were kids in Maysville. Blanche looks more beautiful every year.

• The Lexington Philharmonic was every bit as good as I remembered from working with them on Christmas programs. Miss Ronstadt was well served by their top-notch musicianship.

• Speaking of our star performer, she spent a little time visiting Maysville and Augusta Saturday, checking in at Rosemary's house and at ours. As a result, she did something she doesn't often do, which is to speak from the stage during her performance. She told us how much she liked what she saw, then concluded with, "Those of you who live here have what everyone else is looking for, working for. A beautiful, peaceful place to live, and family and friends to share it with. You're very lucky."

The festival was lucky to have a friend like Linda.