Wayne's severe asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1952. In the spring of 1958, toward the end of Wayne's junior year in high school, a Las Vegas booking agent saw a local TV show on which the two Newton brothers were performing and took them back with him for an audition. Originally signed for two weeks, the two brothers eventually performed for five years, doing six shows a day.
Newton achieved nationwide recognition on September 29, 1962, when he and his brother performed on The Jackie Gleason Show. He would perform on Gleason's show 12 times over the following two years.
Many other entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas, George Burns, and Jack Benny lent Newton their support. In particular, Benny hired Newton as an opening act for his show.
After his job with Benny ended, Newton was offered a job to open for another comic at the Flamingo Hotel, but Newton asked for, and was given, a headline act.
In 1999, Newton signed a 10-year deal with the Stardust, calling for him to perform there 40 weeks out of the year for six shows a week in a showroom named after him. In 2005, in preparation for the eventual demolition of the casino, the deal was, from all reports, amicably terminated; Newton began a 30-show stint that summer at the Hilton. His last show at the Stardust was on April 20, 2005. During a break in his on stage performance, he announced to the crowd that night he wanted to spend more time with his wife and new daughter as the main reasonings for cancelling the contract. Newton said the Boyd family made him a very nice offer to stay on past the demolition of the hotel and casino and to play in other Boyd venues, but Newton declined citing "another deal in the works for Vegas", but he did not mention the Hilton specifically. News crews were expecting this performance to end on time, to make their 10 pm and 11 pm shows, but the show finally ended around 11:30 pm, thus eliminating the possibility. Mr. Las Vegas went on at 7:30 that night, and sang nearly his entire repertoire and songs of other Vegas mainstays as well.
In 2001, Newton succeeded Bob Hope as “Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle.” In January 2005, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The Entertainer. The winner got a spot in his act, plus a headlining act of their own for a year. And recently during player introductions at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, Newton sang Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas."
In 2008, Newton received a Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a national memorial to President Wilson, commemorates "the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson." The award honors leaders who have given back to their communities.rs, earning him the nickname Mr. Las Vegas.
Bill Bailey
Wayne Newton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sun was shinin' fine,
The lady love of old Bill Bailey
Was hangin' clothes on the line
In her back yard,
And weepin' hard.
She married a B&O brakeman
That took and throwed her down,
With a big gang hanging round
And to that crowd,
She hollered loud:
[Chorus]
Won't you come home, Bill Bailey
Won't you come home?
She moans the whole day long.
I'll do the cookin', darling
I'll pay the rent,
I know I've done you wrong;
'Member that rainy eve that
I threw you out,
With nothing but a fine-tooth comb?
I know I'm to blame,
Well, ain't that a shame
Bill Bailey won't you please come home.
Bill drove by that door
In an automobile,
A great big diamond, coach and footman
Hear that lady squeal.
He's all alone
I heard her groan.
She hollered through the door
Bill Bailey, is you sore?
Stop a minute, listen to me
Won't I see you no more?
Bill winks his eye
As he heard her cry:
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Wayne Newton's "Bill Bailey" tell a story of a woman left alone by her husband, Bill Bailey, who was a B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) brakeman. The woman is hanging clothes on the line on a beautiful summer's day when she breaks down in tears, mourning the loss of her love. She had married Bill, but he had thrown her down and left her for a big gang that he was hanging around with. She calls out to the crowd, but they don't listen. The woman is left to herself, crying and pleading with Bill to come back home.
The chorus of the song features the woman calling out to Bill Bailey, imploring him to return home to her. She offers to cook for him, pay the rent, and she even admits that she was wrong. She recounts a rainy evening when she threw him out with nothing but a fine-tooth comb. She takes the blame for their problems but asks Bill to please come home.
The final verse of the song sees Bill Bailey driving by in an automobile with a great big diamond, coach, and footman. The woman hears him coming and begins to groan. She calls out to him, asking if he is sore and pleading with him to listen to her. Bill winks his eye, hearing her cries before the chorus is repeated.
Line by Line Meaning
One one summer's day,
On a particular day during summer,
Sun was shinin' fine,
The sun was shining nicely,
The lady love of old Bill Bailey
The woman Bill Bailey loves and is in a relationship with,
Was hangin' clothes on the line
Was hanging clothes on a line outside to dry them,
In her back yard,
In the backyard of her house,
And weepin' hard.
And crying profusely,
She married a B&O brakeman
She got married to a brakeman who worked for the B&O Railroad company,
That took and throwed her down,
Who cheated on her and left her,
Bellerin' like a prune-fed calf
Crying out loudly like a calf that's been fed with prunes,
With a big gang hanging round
With a large group of people present around her,
And to that crowd,
To that group of people,
She hollered loud:
She yelled out loudly:
Won't you come home, Bill Bailey
Please come home, Bill Bailey,
Won't you come home?
Would you come back home?
She moans the whole day long.
She cries all day long.
I'll do the cookin', darling
I'll take care of cooking, my dear,
I'll pay the rent,
I'll pay the rent for our house,
I know I've done you wrong;
I know I've made a mistake;
'Member that rainy eve that
Remember that rainy evening when
I threw you out,
I kicked you out of the house,
With nothing but a fine-tooth comb?
Without giving you anything but a comb with fine teeth?
I know I'm to blame,
I know I'm the one responsible for the situation,
Well, ain't that a shame
Isn't that unfortunate,
Bill Bailey won't you please come home.
Bill Bailey, I beg you to come back home.
Bill drove by that door
Bill drove by the door of the house,
In an automobile,
In a car,
A great big diamond, coach and footman
With a large diamond, a luxurious vehicle, and servants,
Hear that lady squeal.
Hear that lady scream in excitement.
He's all alone
Bill is by himself,
I heard her groan.
I heard her moaning in sadness or pain.
She hollered through the door
She yelled through the house's door,
Bill Bailey, is you sore?
Bill Bailey, are you angry or upset?
Stop a minute, listen to me
Take a break, listen to what I have to say,
Won't I see you no more?
Won't I ever see you again?
Bill winks his eye
Bill closes one of his eyes for a moment,
As he heard her cry:
As he heard her crying out:
Won't you come home, Bill Bailey
Please come home, Bill Bailey,
Won't you come home?
Would you come back home?
She moans the whole day long.
She cries all day long.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROWAN, TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kevinpaul180
His Daddy, don't you walk so fast, was his best hit! 😊
@jackshilvock1935
Fantastic as always 😀
@lonestarfriend
He had a good voice when he was younger; it became much rougher over time. Still quite the entertainer though, and multi-instrumentalist. Respect. 🙂
@TomElvisSmith
Agreed, I'm a big fan of his earlier singing style. Also, as you say, he's quite an entertainer and very talented to be able to play so many musical instruments.
@kevinpaul180
Absolutely 😮
@almercado8148
Il est incroyable ce gars ! Formidable !!
@kendaves3841
Fearless
@TomElvisSmith
Just a side note, in Connie Francis's performance of "Forget Domani" on this episode, she actually goes backstage where you get to see both the background chorus of singers as well as Ray Bloch and his orchestra. It's an incredible behind-the-scenes view of the Sullivan show which I've never seen any other time.
@spyderlogan4992
I was still playing 'Wooly Bully' and 'The Last Time' at all the pool parties in my high school band, The Beau Street Runners, Franconia, Virginia, in May of '65. And Satisfaction was a week away from being released...I missed this performance...This was square, with a capital SQUARE, baby...
@TomElvisSmith
I prefer "square" music personally to the songs you mentioned, but we all have different tastes.