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singers Description: People Magazine says BOB ANDERSON is "America's GREATEST singing impressionist!"
Bob Anderson: The Dean of Impressionists
Dean Martin once said about Bob Anderson, "Bob does me better than I do me!"
The be or not to be was never the question for Anderson - while others dreamed of being recording stars, Anderson actually became them - from Frank to Dean, Sammy, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Steve Lawrence, Tom Jones, Jack Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and an incredible host of others. No one had ever impersonated these vocal giants before -- when Anderson began his career back in the 70's, there were no singing impressionists. Rich Little, David Frye, Fred Travalena, and Babe Pier were on the scene but their impressions focused on politicians, actors and other "talking" personalities. Jim Bailey was doing vocal impressions, but only of specific female artists such as Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland... and in full drag.
They keynote for Anderson was that he possessed a wonderful voice of his own. Always a fan of the best music, the top singers and the kinds of songs that became classics, standards and award-winners, Anderson has been influenced by the great artists who had made their mark on the world of music. He had no time for the songs that disappeared into oblivion after a few short weeks on the Rock 'n Roll charts. As a young boy, he would listen over and over and over again to the sounds of Sinatra, Davis, Bennett and the others in that genre and would sing along with their records.
By 1977, it seemed that the road to stardom was unstoppable for the impressionist. Deemed top in his field by both Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson, Anderson was invited back for numerous guest spots on their respective shows. In fact, Anderson made 100 talk show appearances over a period of seven years, from 1979-86, which was unprecedented at the time. Also unprecedented was the fact that he appeared on the top-rated "Tonight Show" twice in just four days. All told, he did 13 Johnny Carson Tonight shows, more than 50 Merv Griffin shows and 25 Mike Douglas shows as well as appearing on "The Dinah Shore Show", "The David Letterman Show", "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" and "The John Davidson Show". He also did an HBO Special with Rich Little and a Showtime special with John Byner.
After the first Carson show, Anderson got a two-week gig at the "in" spot in Las Vegas, the Top of the Dunes. The two-week engagement turned into nearly 200 weeks. Virtually making the room his own from 1979-81, Anderson saw stars such as Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, Liberace and Joe Williams, along with other impressionists such as John Byner, Rich Little, David Frye, Fred Travalena and Babe Pier, in his audience on a constant basis. The biggest names in show business would drop by for Bob's late show and join him on stage, a tradition that still takes place wherever he performs. At his recent engagement at the Desert Inn, for example, Tom Jones, Steve Lawrence, Tony Bennett, Engelbert Humperdinck, Robert Goulet, Jack Jones, Bill Medley, Frankie Avalon and Buddy Greco came into see Anderson's show and got up and performed with the impressionist.
After the Dunes engagement, Bob started working with headliners like Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr. and Shirley Bassey and appearing all over the United States as well as South Africa, England, Switzerland, Finland, Australia, Monte Carlo, and Europe. He performed at the Kennedy Awards in Washington D.C. in honor of Henry Kissinger and also at Friar's Club roasts for Kirk Douglas, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, President Ford, Tony Bennett and Milton Berle.
With all his acclaim, its no wonder that when in January of the new Millennium, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest daily newspaper, asked its readers to name their all-time Las Vegas performer, Anderson came in at number 12, smack dab in between Barbra Streisand and Ray Charles. In order of choice the list read as follows: (1) Frank Sinatra, (2) Dean Martin, (3) Sammy Davis Jr., (4) Tom Jones, (5) Elvis Presley, (6) Paul Anka, (7) Johnny Mathis, (8) Andy Williams, (9) Wayne Newton, (10) Tony Bennett, (11) Barbra Streisand, (12) Bob Anderson, (13) Ray Charles, (14) Liberace, (15) Jimmy Durante, (16) Tony Orlando, (17) Judy Garland, (18) Robert Goulet, (19) Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, and (20) Shecky Greene. The fun part is that Anderson can re-create the vocal sounds of almost everyone on the list!
Always working, Anderson has become one of the top solo attractions for corporate America, all-star benefits and in the top clubs and showrooms around the world. In fact, thanks to Bob Anderson, one is no longer the loneliest number - it's a crowd.
See more of BOB at www.BOBANDERSON.com