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After recently watching
Kathy Westmoreland on the Larry King Show, along with several other
Elvis celebs, I was more than anxious to see her perform live, on
stage, in Pahrump, Nevada. Of course we all know her as "the little
girl with the beautiful high voice" that stood beside Elvis both on,
and off stage, for the last seven years of his life, but not many
have had the chance to see her perform solo, and believe me, it's an
opportunity not to be missed.
Being friends with Kathy for several years
now, I was also anxious to introduce her to part of my family, so
brought along my mother and daughter-in-law.
 Less
than an hour from Vegas, we knew the minute we drove down the main
part of town we were in the right place, as we couldn't miss the
large marquee flashing photos of Kathy, along with these words:
Kathy Westmoreland Show,
Seven years with Elvis Presley
Guest Appearance by Jack
Reeves
Saturday January 29
2 Shows
6:00 p.m. and 9:00
p.m.
We were thankful we'd purchased
our tickets beforehand, as the first thing we discovered as we
walked in the casino was that both shows were already sold-out.
Promptly at 6:00 p.m. Kathy made her
entrance, looking absolutely stunning in black leather pants, gold
lame top, dangling gold earrings, gold high heels, and one of her
trademark gold arm-bracelets like the ones she was famous for in the
70s.
Overheard from the audience as she made her
way to the stage comments like, "Wow, she looks as great as she did
thirty years ago."
It was evident from the minute she walked on
that stage the audience was all hers. The Kathy Westmoreland we all
loved in the '70s definitely still has it all, looks, charm,
charisma, humor, and most important, that beautiful high voice of
hers which is still as magnificent as ever.
Kathy gave her all, as she showed off all the
versatility of her beautiful voice, by singing everything from pop,
to country, to pure Elvis.
When
Kathy sang "Love Me Tender," Sue McCasland's husband Stanley gave her
roses, a kiss and a scarf, leading the way to humor, memories, and
stories of Elvis.
Kathy's friend Jack Reeves' son Matt, played
guitar, as part of her band for the evening, and Jack's younger son
Cole performed in the pre-show with Jack himself. For photos of
Matt, Jack, Cole, Dick and Jimmy Dale and others having fun during
the filming of the up-coming HBO Special "Dick Dale and Friends",
tune into
Dick Dale's ranch
Kathy performed a beautiful tribute to Elvis,
as she began by reading a letter sent to her by an anonymous fan,
shortly after his death. She followed it
by singing several of Elvis' big hits, like, "My Way, "I'll Remember
You", "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Funny How Times Slips Away" and
"The Wonder of You".
Just one of the highlights of the show, was
when a fan requested "Love Letters," and Kathy, being Kathy, and not
wanting to let her fans down, even though the band didn't know the
music, proceeded to treat us to a wonderful performance of the song
a cappela.
The most emotional moment of the show
however, was when Kathy's daughter Lindsey joined her onstage for
the song Kathy sang to her as a baby, “Lay Down Beside Me.”
Lindsey has indeed
inherited her mothers personality, looks, charm and outstanding
voice. You could easily vision Elvis smiling down on the pair as
they sang so wonderfully together, and you could feel how proud he
would have been, of that very special moment in time.
 Kathy signed autographs and talked to fans
after both shows. Like Elvis, she really enjoys visiting with her
fans.
It was great finally meeting Sue McCasland
and Sandi Pichon. I'm sure anyone in the Elvis World knows their
names, as Kathy pointed out, they were both taking great photos of
Elvis before she even knew he existed.
 Sandi has just released a new
book, RAISED ON ELVIS! ELVIS!
ELVIS! which can be purchased
on her website, Sandi
Pichon. UK fans can order at
Apex Publishing
Sue's great Aloha photo is the one that
graces the front of Kathy 1987 book, Elvis and Kathy as well
as being the main photo on
Kathy's website.
The DVD of this concert is planned as a
bonus insert along with the book Kathy's assistant is writing about
her experiences of being Kathy's assistant. Stay tuned to Kathy's
website for the release date.
Stay tuned to Kathy's website
for
up-to-the-minute news, upcoming shows and new merchandise.
Thanks go out to Sarah Moore and Sandi Pichon
for their contribution to the great collection of photos used in
this article.
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