Las Vegas – ‘Lady Luck’

Alberici Sisters – Marianna Riccio ‘Lady Luck’ – The Rat Pack – Las Vegas

Things sure changed in Las Vegas since our first adventure performing in the main show room at Caesar’s Palace as members of The Dean Martin Golddiggers. That was in 1973 and for two Catholic girls who had never traveled away from home, this was the big time! However, we were a little timid about entertaining in ‘Sin City.’

On the other hand, we were tickled pink to know that we were performing with the best of the best. We savored the experience as entertainers working our charm on audiences that were dressed to the nines. Sinatra made Caesars Palace the place to be after a few brawls with hotel officials at The Sands.

Excerpt from the book, Beyond our Wildest Dreams… 

TV Radio Mirror Magazine, December 1973: “You can’t go home again.” Frank Sinatra takes exception to Thomas Wolfe’s infamous words. Frank practically lived in Las Vegas in the days of the legendary Clan (or Rat Pack). Then a series of punch-ins with various hotel officials made Frank so angry that he vowed he’d never appear again in the gambling spa that he helped put on the map. Maybe the years have mellowed the star but he’s planning a Las Vegas comeback. He’s set to resume his nightery career at Caesars Palace, certainly a fitting place for the “King of Singers.”

Pat Cooper, comedian: “I opened for Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, the list goes on and on. I played everything in Vegas. Everything. I played the Riviera, I played the Caesars, I played the Flamingo, I played the Sahara, I played them all. At the time Caesars was the best. The Sands started to collapse when that guy hit Frank Sinatra. Frank quit the Sands and went to Caesars and brought all his people over to Caesars and it hurt the Sands.”

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Decades later, in 2003, we started doing reunion shows with the former Dean Martin Golddiggers featuring Marianna Riccio when she still had braces on her teeth. Then, a decade after that she returned the favor and featured us in her music video, ‘Lady Luck.’

Music Artists: Marianna Riccio and the Alberici Sisters

It was a blast to do a parody of the Frank Sinatra song, ‘Luck Be A Lady’ with all the sophistication of classic Vegas while Marianna brings a little vintage fun to today’s Las Vegas.

Marianna Riccio is ‘Lady Luck’ featuring the Alberici Sisters

The music video starts with a prelude of Marianna and her girlfriends contemplating a trip to Las Vegas which leads to a magical journey.

‘Lady Luck’ through the decades of Vegas…

Shooting the music video was a family affair, even our mom made a cameo appearance in it! Everything seems to have come full circle for it was our mom who took us on her singing jobs and introduced us to performing.

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Today we’re singing and swinging with the LA Winds Jazz Band a classic Frank Sinatra tune to celebrate his 100th Birthday…

Who would have thought that we would still be singing with a Big Band, the songs made famous by members of the Rat Pack and featured in the music video, ‘Lady Luck?’

What do you have on your coffee table?

The Alberici Sisters reminisce on times performing with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin

Book, ‘Beyond Our Wildest Dreams’ on Amazon

Life magazine, ‘Sinatra at 100’ on Amazon

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Swinging With The Big Bands & All That Jazz

This month has been filled with music as we sing and prepared for our upcoming performances with the “L.A. Winds Jazz Band.”

 This fantastic group of musicians, also know as the “Pierce Jazz Band” under the direction of John Mitchel and Dave Weston, can swing the iconic music from the 1940’s to the 1960’s like no other! We will be performing at Nola’s in Los Angeles on October 3rd, 7:30 – 9:30  and also at the Calabasas Performing Arts Education Center on October 13. We will be on the bill with the distinguished L. A. Symphonic Winds, an orchestra of 100 musicians conducted by Steven Piazza.

Rehearsing with the band

Los Angeles Winds opens their season with — Eric Whitacre’s highly acclaimed and innovative Sin City spoof “Gawdzilla Eats Las Vegas”, plus the acclaimed L.A. Winds Jazz Band featuring the Alberici Sisters!

Sunday October 13, 2013 2:30 pm – Calabasas H. S. Performing Arts & Edu. Center. 

Hope to see some of you there!

ICONIC BAND MEMORIES PERFORMING WITH LOUIS PRIMA!

Excerpt from our book, BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS…

“Mark Glick, NanuetTheater-Go-Round, stagehand: …The Nanuet had your Las Vegas type of performers there, everybody from Louis Prima to Pat Cooper to Liberace to Sergio Franchi to The Jackson Five. They would perform from Tuesday to Sunday, maybe two shows on Saturday and Sunday.

There were people like Buddy Hackett, who was such a nice guy… Then there were stars like Jerry Lewis, he was really nasty backstage but I loved his stupid slapstick type of humor.

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis, Jr. would come in at six for an eight o’’clock show, sometimes he’d have the patch over his eye, and the aroma of marijuana from under the door of his dressing room would fill the entire backstage area.

And the Golddiggers—my friends and I were seventeen, eighteen years old and here were these beautiful young ladies just a few years older than us prancing around the stage, it was wonderful. It was a fun place to work; we would have worked there for free. I got to smoke a joint with Cheech and Chong!”

“Maria: Louis Prima and Sam Butera’s show had so much energy that it was contagious. The music coming from the stage and into our dressing room kept us buzzing after our show. I must say it was utterly delightful to hear Louis and the band chant out the hit, “Oh Marie!” Louis sang with abandonment and with complete disregard to any sentiment while the audience cheered him on…”

“Linda: Louis Prima’s show was like a big jam session with wild trumpet, organ and drum solos. All the musicians had amazing talent and showmanship, each had an important part in the show, talking, jiving as well as playing. Louis was a fantastic trumpet player, masterful at delivering jokes and as a comic singer. His Italian novelty songs endeared him to the Italian Americans in the crowd. During ‘‘Just A Gigolo’’ the guys in the band joined him with a shout out, echoing. “Gigolo, Gigolo.”  Prima’s “I Ain’t Got Nobody was priceless. When he sang the part. “I’m so sad and lonely, sad and lonely, sad and lonely…., it was more of a tease, a reaching out to all the sad and lonely people in the audience to lighten up and they did… The show gave the appearance of being loose when actually it was very tight.” – Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

“There’’s nothing like walking out and watching the people get turned on.”——Louis Prima

 

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