Sound Company
New World Audio
Venue
Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall
UNLV, Las Vegas, NV
Crew
- FOH Engineer: Sonny Maupin
- Monitor Engineer: Perry Palmer
- A-2 Techs: Craig Tanaka, Jim Moran
- Stage Crew: Danny Buss, Jamie Buss
Gear
FOH
- Console: Avid Venue Profile
- Speakers: (4) Meyer Sound MSL-4; (4) Meyer Sound 700-HP subs; Turbosound IQ10 (front fills)
MON
- Console: Midas M32
- Speakers: L-Acoustics 112P wedges; Meyer Sound MSL-4 (side fills)
- Mics: DPA 4099 (strings), Shure Beta 98H/C, Audix i5 (horns); Radial Engineering microphone splitter
Event Details:
Bob Anderson not only performs full-band tribute performances of Frank Sinatra’s music, he uses prosthetic makeup to morph into the spitting image of the sultan of swoon himself (See Bringing Ol’ Blue Eyes Back, FOH, April 2015). New World Audio’s Sonny Maupin, who supported Anderson’s 10-month residency at the Palazzo Theatre in Las Vegas in 2015 along with subsequent gigs, stepped up with another audio assist when Anderson performed his latest tribute show, One More for the Road, at UNLV’s Ham Hall on Feb. 7, 2023. Anderson, who has performed as a singing impressionist of multiple artists in Vegas showrooms since the 1970s, has brought his latest Sinatra tribute show to venues around the country in recent years, including NYC’s Carnegie Hall.
More photos of Bob Anderson’s One More for the Road performance at UNLV:
More details about Bob Anderson:
Bob Anderson grew up in Michigan, where music played day and night in the family home. “I fell in love with Sinatra’s music,” says Anderson. “I listened to so much of it, it became embedded in my brain. It was easy for me to become attached to his music because, to this day, he is my favorite singer.”
He and his siblings – five brothers and two sisters – all cultivated a talent for singing. As a teenager, he and his brothers performed at weddings and USO shows. By his senior year of high school, they had weekend gigs at local clubs.
After his Army discharge in the early ‘70s, Anderson began performing at Detroit’s Moon Supper Club, where he caught the attention of singer Bobby Darin and drummer Buddy Rich. With their encouragement, he headed west in search of fame and fortune.
Anderson arrived in Las Vegas nearly broke, pausing at the Sahara Hotel for a drink. Inside the hotel/casino, a chance encounter led to a spontaneous audition for Nancy Sinatra, who was in need of an opening act. Within hours, his name was added to the hotel’s marquis, and he shared the stage with Nancy Sinatra that evening.
Nancy Sinatra added to Anderson’s good fortune by introducing him to Merv Griffin, the host of a popular afternoon talk show. “Merv Griffin did me a big favor – or he ruined my career,” Anderson jokes.
In 1975, following an appearance on Griffin’s Show, Anderson was invited to his 50th birthday party. The guest list included hundreds of Hollywood’s stars, and Griffin asked Anderson to join him at the piano for a few songs.
“If he played ‘Misty,’ I sang like Johnny Mathis. If he did ‘Delilah,’ I was Tom Jones,” Anderson recalls. After several songs imitating famous singers, Griffin told him, “We found your act. You’re going to be the Singing Impressionist.”
Since then, Anderson has mastered the mannerisms and voices of stars such as Dean Martin, Tom Jones and Tony Orlando. He quickly became the talk of the Vegas Strip. “I was given a two-week shot at the Top of The Dunes Hotel, and I performed in that room for 12 years.”
Sometimes, other Vegas headliners such as Liberace or Jimmy Durante would attend his 2 a.m. show, and join him on stage. “In one evening I had Steve Lawrence, Johnny Mathis, Jack Jones, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Tom Jones all singing together on my stage.”
Crooner Andy Williams once said, “Bob actually becomes the person he is doing on stage. It’s extraordinary!” His shows are filled with charm and laughter, capturing the personas of legendary singers so vividly without ever descending into parody or ridicule. Many of the performers in his repertoire – such as Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr. – have become treasured friends.
For many years, he performed regularly at various showrooms in Las Vegas. When the city celebrated 50 years of entertainment, Anderson was voted #12 of Las Vegas’ all-time favorite acts. He has also sung at many Hollywood events over the years, joined on stage by legends such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Duke Ellington.
On television, he is the only performer to have been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson twice in the same week. In the mid-1980s, when Billy Crystal was crafting his impression of Sammy Davis Jr., for Saturday Night Live, he sought Anderson’s advice.
Perhaps no performance has been refined as much as that of Frank Sinatra. Anderson has included the legendary singer in his act since the beginning, and has created his most recent tribute concert entitled “One More For the Road.” The show includes a 32-piece orchestra following the original arrangements of Sinatra’s most popular hits.
While tribute acts based on performers such as Elvis Presley or the Beatles may be common, capturing “the Chairman’s” persona requires more than putting a hat on sideways and grabbing a microphone. “It is an extremely difficult trip for anyone who is going on stage, hoping to be Frank Sinatra,” says Anderson. “He is Mr. Cool.”
Critics agree Anderson inhabits the role, elevating the performance above mere imitation. With the assistance of Emmy®-winning make-up artist Ron Wild, he becomes the very image of Ol’ Blue Eyes.
Anderson is taking his reenactment on the road, recently performing a near sold out show at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He’s schedule to perform throughout the country through 2023.
Between performances, Anderson enjoys his home in Savannah, where he has lived for the past six years. He settled in the Coastal Empire to be close to his grandchildren. However, he is quick to dispel rumors of retirement.
Anderson has often performed as himself, but he knows his audience. “When I do those shows,” he says, “I always sing the first eight or so songs as myself before I go into my impressions. The fact is, I am an impressionist who has been unanimously endorsed by my peers, and that is what the people think of me. To this day, I am still doing what they expect of me.”
Anderson believes the constant appeal of Frank Sinatra extends beyond his singing. “What elevates Sinatra above other performers is all the people around the world in show business – to this day – still salute Frank Sinatra,” he says. “His style and his vocal chords are superior.”
Perhaps it was Sinatra himself who offered the highest praise: “This kid’s got a hell of an act.”
More details on Bob Anderson’s show, One More for the Road:
Since December 2021, One More for the Road has been to:
- Carnegie Hall, New York
- Miller Theatre, Augusta, GA
- Johnny Mercer Theatre, Savannah, GA
- Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
- Bank of America Performing Arts Center Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks, CA
- McCallum Theatre, Palm Springs, CA
- UNLV Artemus Ham Hall, Las Vegas, NV
- Upcoming: Duke Energy Center, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, FL
ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD honors the musical legacy of Frank Sinatra and his tremendous contribution to the Great American Songbook. A must-see show, fans can experience Frank and his music at the peak of his career. The concert stars Bob Anderson, the number one singing impressionist in the world. Direct from Carnegie Hall, this captivating production will appear Duke Energy Center For The Arts Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, FL, Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Anderson not only sings like Sinatra, but he also looks just like him, thanks to a complete transformation by Ron Wild, an Emmy award-winning makeup artist. In this 90-minute performance, Anderson is accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra playing Sinatra’s original arrangements and his most-loved song titles including I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Fly Me to the Moon, My Way, New York, New York, That’s Life, My Kind of Town (Chicago Is) and many others.
VH1 voted Anderson the No. 1 celebrity impersonator in the world––an honor that was also given to him by People Magazine. In addition to his exacting impressions, he is a highly acclaimed singer in his own right.
Anderson’s story reads like a classic novel. In 1973, he snuck into the Sahara’s Congo Room to watch a Nancy Sinatra rehearsal. During that rehearsal, Nancy’s opening act, the Everly Brothers, got into an argument and walked out. Enter 23-year-old Anderson. He told the musical conductor that he was a singer; with only a few hours until the start of the show and no opening act, Nancy’s producer handed Anderson a mic and let him prove himself. He did: Anderson went on in place of the Everly Brothers and played the entire two-week engagement at the Sahara.
Shortly after that engagement, Anderson accompanied Nancy to The Merv Griffin Show. That was
Anderson’s first appearance on national television––and he received a standing ovation. So impressed, Griffin invited Anderson to his 50th birthday celebration. It was at Griffin’s party where Anderson started singing and imitating the voices of well-known vocalists. The crowd loved it. Cary Grant was sitting on the floor by the piano, saying, “This is really amazing; I have never seen anything like this!”
Anderson soon became a regular on talk and variety shows, with more than 200 appearances on television networks and shows including Showtime, HBO, the Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Anderson has performed in more Las Vegas showrooms than just about anyone. When Las Vegas celebrated 50 years of entertainment, Anderson was voted No. 12, between Barbra Streisand and Ray Charles, on a list of Las Vegas’ all-time-favorite acts.
Anderson wrote and starred in the award-winning show, FRANK The Man, The Music at The Palazzo Theater in Las Vegas. Within weeks of opening, FRANK became the talk of the town and the must-see show. The running theme and spirit of every review was, “I saw Frank Sinatra the other night. I don’t care if it was Bob Anderson—I saw Frank Sinatra.”
“Ol’ Blue Eyes is back in Las Vegas, courtesy of Bob Anderson!” — The LA Times
“Bob Anderson…might be as close as it gets to seeing Ol’ Blue Eyes live!” — Fox News
“Other than perpetuating the magic that is Sinatra, when Bob Anderson hits the stage, he becomes Frank Sinatra! — The Huffington Post
“You had me the minute you walked on stage. Frank would have loved this show!” — Tony Bennett
Watch the Video
More info at www.bobanderson.com
